Goshawk nest in Riga 2023

[Polly]

14:26 Haha, now that I'm typing this, H21 protests.
She's still pretty close.

'30 Nice sharp clear call

[Polly]

15:09 Fluttering noises
15:13, 18 - 20 The Jay sings the lonely song of the Goshawk

from '22 Gimpel calls

'27/28 The Jay increases in...his song is a bit impulsive.
'43 again

However, 10 minutes earlier both H's could be heard.
And not far ...

Hustle and bustle in the grove today.
The air is filled with spring fever and devotional songs.

[Polly]

17:48:12/13 A 'Gjak' which sounds like around the corner. Almost direct calls from a completely different position, much further. Heated sounds...

Hm.
Emiliano also noted that her lute can sound deceptively close or far. Depending on the location. But that confused me.

18:00 calls in distance
'02
'04 now with accompanying mating.


As I listen to the Goshawk with my cell phone in my ear, a beautiful evening song can be heard.
I think thrush, not blackbird.

[Polly]

We have to keep waiting and we get into April.

I'm considering we talking about April 2024.

The couple shows very little forward movement.
They behave hotly (hormones) with no tendency to actually breed. Even if H21 very obviously spends an almost entire large part of the day near the nest.
I have no faith that we're going to see little mini H's around here this year.

Even if a later brood is of course not without success (they only bred in '21 as a pair after they were found as a pair at the end of April), the breeding behavior for a stable pair is extremely disturbed.

Of course, I like to be pleasantly surprised.


First off ...see you!

[Emi7]

April 1th

Hello Polly and everyone.

Little is it that we expect that sound at 6:36 but she shows that they are there.

Throughout the days they do show their activity strongly and I think they are simply behind schedule.

In 2021 they were not expected and they appeared laying eggs well into April and it tasted like a lot to us.

In 2022 they were already earlier in the line of what I. Jakovlevs stated that as of March 20 there are already couples that have laid eggs in their nests.

In 2023 we expected more and for this reason we are a bit disappointed although I think they will lay eggs.

We don't know if this irregularity could be due to the inconvenience they suffered for a month or more at a time when everything was going well.

Laying dates in Riga :

(2015) Margo (3-4) to (14-4)
(2016) Margo (1-4) to (9-4)
(2017) Margo (24-3) to 4-4)
(2020) Boka (25-3) to (6-4)
(2021) H21 (17-4) to (22-4)
(2022) H21 (28-3) to (4-4)

We are going to trust them.

Good night

[Polly]

In 2023 we expected more and for this reason

Good morning Emiliano!
I'm not concerned with expectations but with the observations that confuse me.
And I'm rather confused. The nest is full of branches but mostly from the previous season. It irritates me that they don't show up in the nest more often and take care of it. The H's are not devoted nest builders, that's a fact. However, in the last two years the instinct to build nests was much more pronounced weeks before the eggs were laid than we are observing this season.
It was never much but more.
They jump in and quickly out again. As if they would burn their feet in the nest. They don't create a nest edge, nothing. They just throw twigs. It doesn't really show any firm intentions if one of the couple shows up in the nest once every two days.
What also struck me, by the way - H21 has stopped using their long drawn out reputation.

We don't know if this irregularity could be due to the inconvenience they suffered for a month or more at a time when everything was going well.

Yeah, maybe that made the whole process a little crazy. That's my guess too. Maybe they'll still lay (which would be nice) ... maybe they'll skip a season.
Maybe it's important to them not to show themselves often so as not to draw attention to themselves.

Well, all speculative.

We keep waiting.

[Emi7]

Hello Polly.

I'm surprised that with so much mating and seeing them with their tail white displayed they ended up not laying eggs. I still do not rule out that they have another nest.

Greetings

[Polly]

I still do not rule out that they have another nest.

Maybe downstairs. They sit a lot in the area below the nest.

Okay, that wasn't meant seriously.
In fact, they are very present. Even if you can't see them, the crows will lure them out of cover at the latest.

Moment, I have to find something...

[Polly]

I really hope it's okay to include Mr. Girts Strazdins from the LDF here. I didn't ask his permission now.
He provided me with information on another occasion, but addressed our concerns.
His thoughts (March 21, so a long time ago):

"I see that there are doubts that our Goshawk pair might have build another nest. If this would happen then in my opinion they might be still visiting the old (camera) nest, but would not bring new branches to it. As far as they still do, I don’t believe they have build another nest. Besides there are not much opportunities to build any new nest close to the old one (but they can move to more distant place).

This of course doesn’t mean that we will see eggs for 100% in our nest. There might be different obstacles that can prevent laying of eggs.

But as far as it is still not to late, let’s hope H pair will have succesfull season!"

***

He knows the local conditions and building another nest doesn't seem to be that easy at least.

[Polly]

Ps: I will later add my previous observations from today.
So far no more than what we have (not) seen for days.

First of all, have a nice day everyone!

[Polly]

Let's go ...the yield of the day.

09:57, 10:26 H21 calling in the grove
...another 10:26 the occasional Battle Goshawk - crow.


10:37 What do we hear - Definitely a crack in the tree. Whether in, out or change of position cannot be seen.

11:22 Beautiful calls.
At first I was sure - Buzzard. Then the quality went down. I think we hear Jay. If so, he should work on his breathing technique a little more. We have an extremely talented and creative genius on our roster. Hats off!

[Polly]

11:25 Crows continue and the call of a goshawk is heard.

12:09 ...again breaking a branch somewhere in the field. Loud.

12:18, '19, '23 H44?
Calls

13:09 These must not be missing in the day ...
a crow slips through the nest.

[Polly]

13:55 H21 calls and we hear the 'Gjak' from H44.
H21 responds...
Seems H44 is sitting closer to the tree. His voice sounds closer and clearer.

'56 'Gjak'
So a short chatter.

'58 H21 decides she wants more than banter...heated vocalizations are heard which I don't think lead to the completed mating.
14:00 next attempt - at least a mating thought/attempt

[Polly]

14:07, '08 H21 is now calling from close range.

'49, '51, '52 further away again

17:52 do we hear the bright call of H44?

18:28 Seagull ...or Jay.
I trust him with everything.

***

I'll keep tracking until dawn.
Another day that feels more like pair/territory consolidation than breeding.

***

Nice evening chirping from the smaller roommates but no more signs of the magical H's.

Sleep well @all and have a good start into the new week!

[Emi7]

April 2th

Hello Polly and everyone.

At dawn their sounds have been heard:
6:30 , 6:54 , 6:58 There has been no response from them. (From 5:32 to 8:08)
They are still in the area but not as they should be if they were about to lay the first egg. It seems as if the heat was turning them off, it doesn't seem as intense as not long ago. They have not put branches or sticks for some time or very little (although they have never been outstanding builders).

When the couple has emerged from the nest, it is seen with strength and vigor (it does not seem to be a physical cause) and possibly a lack of food either. The possible nearby areas are at least 600 meters away.

It may not play this year and there are other reasons for the head or a sufficient level of hormones. The only thing we know is that the continuity was cut off but we don't know about those issues either (they are difficult to determine).
Days go by and we do not see progress but rather steps back.

Hopefully they leave us wrong in our appreciations.

Greetings and see you tomorrow.

[Polly]

April 3rd


Good evening!



It remains sobering.
Today was the quietest day in terms of the couple's presence, activities are no longer worth talking about.

There were shouts:
08:08, 13:43, 14:04 ...all not in the immediate vicinity.
H21 could only be heard closer at 15:02.

The bullfinch can be heard noticeably often and ...
from 19:56 the long, forgiving and devoted song of a blackbird. It's snowing lightly.

Almost funny...wintry mood, fits.


Have a nice evening everyone!

[Emi7]

April 3th

Hello Polly and everyone

Some early sounds were made at 6:15 and 6:34

They are still in the area but their activity is very reduced, there is almost no hope of breeding other than due to the dates due to the lack of heat that seems to be fading away.

Greetings

[Emi7]

April 4th

Hello Polly and everyone.

This morning between 5:35 and 7:50 sounds were heard at 6:27 and 8:07

This drop can be due to the abandonment of breeding or that they have already done so elsewhere.
Boka came from about 600 m from this nest and scattered around the neighborhood there are groves of trees plus two large parks a little further away.

Greetings

[Polly]

Hello Emiliano (thank you!) and everyone!


11:12 H44 hops into the nest on one leg - because he was carrying a twig in the other.




Even if (!) they don't breed here...they continue to care for it.(Which I don't think. I don't think our H's have another nest. H21 was a permanent presence here. Until 2 days ago. A new nest would need constant monitoring and care. Rather that they actually abandon. Or breed late like 2021.)

11:14 pairing is heard

12:15 A crow hops on the edge of the nest, but barely puts a foot in the nest.

12:50/51 she is back

Thanks also to Ligzdas Gariņš in the YouTube chat!

13:38 H21 to hear. She seems to be on the move...her calls change volume/direction as she does so.

16:22 The female sits close and her clear beautiful call creates an echo.

18:03 The Jay is nagging....

***

Now in the evening light snowfall again ... the winter doesn't loosen the band.
A crazy year.


See you!

[Polly]

20:39 Landing sounds in the tree.
A crow peers into the nest.