Hawks Do It in Trees

Hawks do it in the trees. I'm such a curious voyeur that I could not stop watching. How often do you see a hawk mating ritual?
There is an old squirrel's nest in the top of a hickory near the driveway. A few weeks back I saw a bird fly to the nest, so I got out the binoculars and checked it out. It was a large crow and it seemed that the crow might be building a nest. I watched the nest for a few days but never saw the crow again. A little bit ago, I looked out the window to check the sky and saw another bird fly to the old nest. It appeared that the bird had something in it's mouth, so I grabbed the binoculars. It was not a crow, it was a somewhat small Red Shouldered Hawk (Buteo Lineatus). It appeared to be carrying part of a small bird. I could see the outline of the wing against the sky. I watched for a moment and then he flew off, sailing over to a branch from another nearby tree, about 40-50 feet from the ground. Once he landed, he started flitting around, showing his feathers. I saw him look down so I removed the binoculars and stepped a bit to one side and lo and behold, there was another hawk in the tree but I had not seen it before because it was hidden by a branch. If you have ever seen a turkey drum and dance around a hen, that is how I would describe what was happening in the tree. The male flew from branch to branch encircling the female at a distance of 5 to 8 feet. She seemingly ignored him. Then, he flew down and mounted her, much like a rooster would mount a hen. Then, he would repeat the ritual: fluffing, encircling, mounting. As I type, they are still in the tree. It has been over two hours since I first saw the male fly to the nest. The female has been eating something-probably the other half of whatever bird they caught. I wondered if hawks present food as part of their mating ritual so I made quick websearch and discovered some really cool facts about hawks.

For example, hawks can see in the UV range. Voles and mice urinate almost constantly as a form of communication for other rodents. Their urine trails absorb UV radiation differently than the surrounding ground so a hawk can see the trail of the vole and follow it home to the kill.
(http://tinyurl.com/aze2e2)

Here is a good educational page:
http://animaldiversity.ummz.umich.edu/site/accounts/information/Buteo_lineatus.html

This page even has a good sound file:
http://whatbird.wbu.com/obj/40/_/Red-shouldered_Hawk.aspx

Apparently, the mating ritual lasts for several weeks. One of my neighbors noticed a pair of hawks diving last week, but I have not seen that behavior. I have, however, heard more hawk vocalizations than usual, which I understand is also part of the ritual. From what I read, these hawks usually don't mate until April, so my guess is that the warmer weather has fooled them into thinking that winter is over. Even my plum tree is fooled. It has been in bloom for over a week.
I hope that the weather says warm, for the chicks sake. These birds prey on chickens, so I am not exactly thrilled about having them nest 150 feet away from my coop, but hopefully I won't have any problems. Raptors are beautiful birds, and maybe they will choose smaller prey, like rats, moles, and snakes instead of my chickens.

Photo link: http://img.dailymail.co.uk/i/pix/2008/03_01/RedHawk_468x298.jpg