Valentine’s Day Breaking News: Red-tailed hawks nesting on Indiana University, Bloomington campus

Red-tailed hawk, Bloomington, Indiana (Feb. 14, 2024)

Red-tailed hawks, Bloomington, Indiana (Feb. 14, 2024)

Red-tailed hawk, Bloomington, Indiana (Feb. 14, 2024)

The path of love from Monroe County’s courthouse to Bryan Hall on Indiana University’s campus. The aerial image is from Monroe County’s online property lookup system.

Again this year, a pair of red-tailed hawks appears to be nesting in the big Sycamore next to Bryan Hall on Indiana University’s Bloomington campus.

The nest from last spring looks like it will be reused. Wednesday morning, Valentine’s Day, The B Square watched the pair making some renovations to the old nest.

Last year, two hatchlings survived at least into young adulthood. After they left the nest. the youngsters could be observed flying around the downtown vicinity, learning to hunt.

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Photos: Bloomington’s fledgling hawks not yet ready to graduate from nest, but they’re getting closer

Adult hawk flying off from nest, leaving fledgling behind (May 27, 2023)

Fledgling hawks, Bryan Hall, Indiana University (May 27, 2023)

Fledgling hawk, Bryan Hall, Indiana University (May 27, 2023)

At this past week’s Monroe County Community School Corporation board meeting, superintendent Jeff Hauswald gave a preview of the numbers for today’s (May 27) graduation exercises.

The district is awarding high school diplomas to about 850 students this year—that includes the two high schools, as well as adult education programs.

As an homage to the tired cliché that compares the milestone of graduation to birds leaving the nest, here’s an update from the red-tailed hawk family that has taken up residence on Indiana University’s grounds. The nest was built in the big Sycamore tree that towers over Bryan Hall, on the western edge of campus.

The nest is visible from Indiana Avenue at the intersection with Fourth Street. There are at least two fledglings, and they’re getting pretty big. Their heads are still white, but the darker feathers are starting to appear on their wings and breasts. They look to be at least three-quarters the size of the adults.

The first in this series of photos shows one of the adults flying low, away from the nest, leaving the fledglings to fend for themselves for a while.

Congratulations to today’s graduates, and to their teachers, family and friends, who supported them, like a big, sturdy Sycamore.

There are more photos below. Continue reading “Photos: Bloomington’s fledgling hawks not yet ready to graduate from nest, but they’re getting closer” →

Column: New gateway design would give Miller-Showers hawks another place to perch? Let’s do it!

Hawk at Miller-Showers Park on Feb. 14, 2022.

Probably a red-shouldered hawk at Miller-Showers Park on Jan. 7, 2023.

Potential design for city gateway element at Miller-Showers Park.

The city of Bloomington recently asked for feedback on proposed new gateway designs—for the northern tip of Miller-Showers Park, and for the SR 45/46 bypass pedestrian bridge, near the Arlington Heights Elementary School.

The funding for the work, and the eventual construction, comes from the general obligation bonds that were issued in 2018 by the city of Bloomington and branded as “bicentennial bonds” in connection with the 200th anniversary of the city’s founding.

The total amount of those 2018 bonds was $10 million, split up into three different packages.

I can think of more practical ways to spend money than a gateway.

But if some of that money has to be spent on a gateway for people approaching Bloomington from the north, then at least one of the proposed designs makes sense. It looks like it’s basically an obelisk maybe 40–50 feet tall with “Bloomington” spelled out vertically.

Whatever its aesthetic merits, that design would give the hawks of Miller-Showers Park one more high place to perch, where they can look for tasty snacks, and it is easy for us to admire them.

Continue reading “Column: New gateway design would give Miller-Showers hawks another place to perch? Let’s do it!” →