https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Red-shouldered_hawk
The breeding habitats of the red-shouldered hawk are
deciduous and mixed wooded areas, often near water. They have been known to nest near residential areas and open water but this is much less common.
[18] Red-shouldered hawks select sites with greater tree species richness for nesting.
[19] Like almost all raptors, the red-shouldered hawk is monogamous and territorial. While courting or defending territories, the distinctive, screaming
kee-aah call (usually repeated three to four times) of this bird is heard. Courtship displays occur on the breeding grounds, and involve soaring together in broad circles while calling, or soaring and diving toward one another. Males may also perform the "sky-dance" by soaring high in the air, and then making a series of steep dives, each followed by a wide spiral and rapid ascent. These courtship flights usually occur in late morning and early afternoon.
Red-shouldered hawks' mating season is between April and July, with activity usually peaking between April and mid-June. The breeding pair builds a stick nest (also sometimes including shredded bark, leaves and green sprigs) in a major fork of a large tree. They often use the same nest year after year, refurbishing it annually with sticks in the spring. The clutch size is typically three to four eggs. The blotchy-marked eggs, often brown to lavender in color, measure on average 54.5 mm × 43 mm (2.15 in × 1.69 in). The incubation period can range from 28 to 33 days. Hatching is asynchronous, with the first chick hatching up to a week before the last. The hatchlings, which weigh 35 g (1.2 oz) at first, are brooded almost constantly by the female for up to 40 days. Pairs that nest earlier in the breeding season tend to lay greater numbers of eggs and have higher productivity from those eggs.
[20] The male more often captures food but will also incubate and brood occasionally. The young leave the nest at about six weeks of age, but remain dependent on the parents until they are 17 to 19 weeks old. They may continue to roost near the nest site until the following breeding season. Breeding maturity is usually attained at 1 or 2 years of age.
Although they have lived as long as within a month of 20 years old, few live half that long and only around half survive their first year. Each year overall nesting success can be lower than 30 percent.
[21] Early mortality can be due to natural causes, relating to harsh weather conditions, or more often starvation. Young hawks are often parasitized by species such as
Trichomonas gallinae,
Protocalliphora avium, and blood parasites.
[22] Humans, unintentionally or intentionally are a threat to red-shouldered hawks, including hunting, collision with electric wires, road accidents and logging. A further common cause of mortality is natural predation.
Raccoons,
martens,
fishers and large arboreal
snakes can predate eggs, hatchlings, fledglings and occasionally incubating and brooding adults. Non-nesting adults, being a fairly large and powerful predator, have fewer natural predators, but (both during and after the breeding season as well among nestling hawks) they may be preyed on by
great horned owls,
red-tailed hawks,
barred owls, other red-shouldered hawks,
northern goshawks,
peregrine falcons,
prairie falcons, and
bald and
golden eagles. In western
New York, the main cause of nest failure was stated to be great horned owl predation.
[23] Many of the same predators sometimes compete over territory and food with this species. Despite their highly similar diet and habitat preferences, it has been found that red-shouldered hawks can nest within 48 m (157 ft) of a barred owl without interspecies conflict.
[24] In Florida, red-shouldered hawks sometimes collaborate and peaceably coexist with
American crows (usually an enemy to all other birds because of their egg-hunting habits) so they cooperatively mob mutual predators, mainly
great horned owls and
red-tailed hawks.
[25]
Red-shouldered Hawks have hybridized with
Gray Hawk (
Buteo plagiatus),
Red-tailed Hawk (
Buteo jamaicensis) and
Common Black Hawk (
Buteogallus anthracinus).
[26]
View attachment 2553656
Hawks aren't breeding right now. They are migrating and setting up/defending territories which is why I had a Google. Much to early in the year for that business. So they aren't reaching their offspring to hunt. I also questions the ID of the birds as Red-shouldered Hawks generally don't mess with poultry. Red-tailed are much more likely as well as Cooper's, Sharp-shinned, and several others.
