Brown Goshawks

Recently I've been lucky enough to see a pair of Brown Goshawks flying together, hear them calling to one another and mating, and see their nest. They are very close to the Black-breasted Buzzard nest in the previous post. The two sets of birds seem to be unfussed by the presence of the other. The smaller birds send up the alarm call when the Goshawks are returning, but are quiet when the Buzzards return to the nest.

I was amazed by the difference in size of the male Brown Goshawk compared to the much larger female. As opposed to the Buzzards, the male is the one I have heard calling the most. They are fairly stealthy in that they perch about mid-tree, and stay in trees with a lot of foliage to conceal their presence, which then becomes obvious when they are calling to one another. I've been told the Goshawks would raid the nest of the Buzzards to grab their chicks if left unattended so maybe the neighbours wouldn't get on so well if this was the case.

Brown Goshawk