I wanted to issue a safety warning to all our members and guest regarding the aggressive behavior of a pair of Red-Tailed Hawks. Between #8 White and #7 Red a pair of hawks has nested and has fledglings. The adults are very protective of the nesting area and have attacked a few golfers.
We have roped off the area around the tree and recommend not retrieving your ball from this area.
Please contact the Pro Shop for a ruling.
Once the fledglings are mature enough to leave the nest for good (approx. 10 weeks from hatch), the aggressive behavior will cease. My estimate is by the end of June. In the meantime, please be aware when playing these holes.
Red-tail behavior and facts
- Red-tailed hawks are opportunistic, preying on a broad variety of animals: insects, rats, mice, squirrels, reptiles and other birds. About 75 percent of their diet consists of rodents and other small mammals. This flexibility in diet contributes to their successful adaptation to many types of ecosystems.
- Like other buteos, the red-tailed hawks hunting style allows them to expend less energy when hunting. They scan for prey from either a soaring or perched position, and then move in for the kill. For unwary prey like mice, red-tailed hawks may fly openly from perch to perch. For more alert prey, a red-tailed hawk approaches indirectly from behind the cover of trees and bushes. Then the hawk attacks quickly, and may even pursue prey over short distances.
- Plumage in red-tailed hawks is highly variable, and includes nine recognized color morphs. Generally, adult red-tailed hawks have a broad, fan-shaped tail with a red upper surface. Typically, backs and upper wing surfaces are dark gray or reddish brown, streaked and barred with lighter colors. In a lighter color phase, adult breasts are cream colored and streaked with brown. There may also be a darker band across the belly. Dark phase birds may have red or black bellies, breasts, or wing linings.
- There are nearly a dozen subspecies of red-tailed hawks; six are recognized in the US.
- When threatened by an intruder, a red-tailed hawk won't usually stay to defend its nest. They are generally shy and nonaggressive toward people, and are commonly attacked (but usually not injured) by crows, magpies, owls, other hawks and even songbirds over territorial disputes.
- The call of the red-tailed hawk is a series of long, drawn-out raspy screams. In flight, they will make a high-pitched "skeeeer;" at close range a croaking "guh-runk." Birds frequently call while soaring.
- Red-tailed hawks are monogamous and may mate for life. They make stick nests high above the ground, in which the female lays one to five eggs each year. Both sexes incubate the eggs for four to five weeks, and feed the young from the time they hatch until they leave the nest about six weeks later.
