27/07/2026
The Incredible Devotion of Raptor Parents
How a Wild Red-shouldered Hawk Responded to an Orphan’s Calls
During the busy spring season, we do a lot of renestings of raptor youngsters due to a variety of situations (falling from nest, nest tree damaged by storms or tree services, nest and/or parents not found, etc.).
If we have an orphan in care, we will also look for suitable active nest sites, place an orphan in a foster nest of the same species, and the parents will almost always care for this new youngster like it’s their own (we will typically set up trail cams to monitor).
Raptors are among the most dedicated parents in the animal kingdom. Their instinct to protect, feed, and raise young is truly remarkable.
But this spring, we witnessed something that we had never seen before …
We had an orphaned Red-shouldered Hawk in our care that was healthy and growing but needed the experience of being outdoors where he could get the enrichment of the sights and sounds of the outdoors.
The smaller outdoor enclosure (mew) was set up with leafy branches as well as an artificial nest basket to give the youngster as natural a setting as possible while in our care.
Then something unexpected began to happen.
After just one day of this orphan being placed in the mew, a wild Red-shouldered Hawk appeared and landed on the roof. We knew there was a resident pair of hawks next door that had raised young for the past five years.
We immediately recognized this adult as the female of the pair due to her very light coloration.
The youngster would call from inside the enclosure and the adults would respond. The female was also bringing prey items, and it was evident that she wanted to feed this youngster but could not figure out how to get to him. This behavior went on for almost two days. We truly felt for these hawk parents and their drive to care for this youngster.
For whatever reason, this pair was not successful in having young this breeding season, but that parental instinct still kicked into full gear.
We decided to try an “experiment” – securely propped the mew door open and set up a trail cam to monitor the activity. Within 30 minutes, the adult female arrived – first landing on the mew roof, then the fence nearby, then on the ground right in front of the open door.
She looked in, flew up to the youngster (who was sitting in the nest basket) and fed him – inside the mew! To say we were ecstatic is honestly putting it mildly. We were almost in tears. Both parents were actively caring for this youngster. The male would bring food to the female, then she would fly inside the mew to feed the orphan. This activity continued for more than a week.
As time went on, the parents began to bring food a little less often and would sit outside of the mew – encouraging the youngster to come to them. This is normal behavior once young are at fledgling age.
We also had a trail cam inside the mew to monitor – and the youngster was starting to take short flights to perches. Nine days later, he flew out of the mew, first onto a nearby fence then up into a tree. The parents continued to bring him food as he got stronger and learned about being a wild hawk.
Watching this unfold was a powerful reminder of the strength of instinct and the incredible dedication of raptor parents.
We entered this situation hoping to give this youngster the best possible chance at survival. We never expected that a wild hawk would become part of his journey in such an extraordinary way.
Nature continues to teach us, surprise us, and inspire us.
