Red-tailed
Hawks in Grace Church, Charleston, SCA pair of Red-tailed Hawks (RTHA) are nesting on Grace Church in
downtown Charleston, SC. The church is currently undergoing a $12
million restoration and renovation. It is less than three blocks from
my office, so I have been watching and photographing the nest since
February 2008. The first sign of activity I saw this year was St.
Patrick's Day, March 17, 2008. The birds were seen active in the
area and fresh greenery appeared in the nest. This is their
on-going story. (In reverse chronological order, if you want to
read from the beginning, go to the bottom of the page and read up!)
On Friday, March 21, Rudy Mancke, a SC state naturalist mentioned the Grace Church Red-tail nest on during his "Nature Notes" on South Carolina ETV radio. He also mentioned a nest on St. John's the Baptist church on Broad St. I've heard of that nest, it is a little further, but still walkable. The church actually has two nests on it. Grace had recently told me she saw fresh greenery in one of them. I went down there, but couldn't find any signs of activity.
This photo gives you an idea of where the nest is with respect to the construction going on. The birds do not seem bothered by it at all.
This nest was used last year, but today was the first sign of activity at the nest this year! I saw two RTHAs and there is fresh greenery in the nest! Here is a wide angle shot of the church above the construction. Notice the bird on the cross and at the very bottom of the image, you can see the nest.
One of the hawks surveying its domain from atop the cross
March 2008
March 20/21
On Friday, March 21, Rudy Mancke, a SC state naturalist mentioned the Grace Church Red-tail nest on during his "Nature Notes" on South Carolina ETV radio. He also mentioned a nest on St. John's the Baptist church on Broad St. I've heard of that nest, it is a little further, but still walkable. The church actually has two nests on it. Grace had recently told me she saw fresh greenery in one of them. I went down there, but couldn't find any signs of activity.
This photo gives you an idea of where the nest is with respect to the construction going on. The birds do not seem bothered by it at all.
I nearly missed this shot. The
bird flew in before I had my camera ready. It looks like he
dropped something off and then left again fairy quickly.
And this is a picture of him flying
away. I am only guessing that it is a him. It is hard to
tell this birds apart, especially at a distance. Males tend to be
smaller than females. These two birds are similar in
appearance. This one has less of a belly band and more white
under his chin than the other. So far, those are the only real
differences I have spotted. Compare with pictures below to see
the difference.
March 18
It looks like they are happy with the nest location to me.March 17
This nest was used last year, but today was the first sign of activity at the nest this year! I saw two RTHAs and there is fresh greenery in the nest! Here is a wide angle shot of the church above the construction. Notice the bird on the cross and at the very bottom of the image, you can see the nest.
This is a close up of the nest.
If you look at the top left portion, you can see some newly wilted
green material that must have been added recently to the nest.
One of the hawks surveying its domain from atop the cross
Both hawks were present briefly and
then flew off together. A few minutes later, this one reappeared
on the other side of the church.
See other months --
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