<P> In the same period, the pair constructs a stick nest in a large tree 4 to 21 m (13 to 69 ft) off the ground or on a cliff ledge 35 m (115 ft) or higher above the ground, or may nest on man - made structures . The nest is generally 71 to 97 cm (28 to 38 in) in diameter and can be up to 90 cm (3.0 ft) tall . The nest is constructed of twigs, and lined with bark, pine needles, corn cobs, husks, stalks, aspen catkins, or other plant lining matter . </P> <P> Great horned owls compete with the red - tailed hawk for nest sites . Each species has been known to kill the young and destroy the eggs of the other, but in general, both species nest in adjacent or confluent territories without conflict . Great horned owls are incapable of constructing nests and typically expropriate existing red - tail nests . Great horned owls begin nesting behaviors much earlier than red - tails, often as early as December . Red - tails are therefore adapted to constructing new nests when a previous year's nest has been overtaken by owls or otherwise lost . New nests are typically within a kilometer or less of the previous nest . Often, a new nest is only a few hundred meters or less from a previous one . Being a large predator, most predation of these hawks occurs with eggs and nestlings, which are taken by owls, corvids and raccoons . </P> <P> A clutch of one to three eggs is laid in March or April, depending upon latitude . Clutch size depends almost exclusively on the availability of prey for the adults . Eggs are laid approximately every other day . The eggs are usually about 60 mm × 47 mm (2.4 in × 1.9 in). They are incubated primarily by female, with the male substituting when the female leaves to hunt or merely stretch her wings . The male brings most food to the female while she incubates . After 28 to 35 days, the eggs hatch over 2 to 4 days; the nestlings are altricial at hatching . The female broods them while the male provides most of the food to the female and the young, which are known as eyasses (pronounced "EYE - ess - ez"). The female feeds the eyasses after tearing the food into small pieces . After 42 to 46 days, the eyasses begin to leave the nest . The fledging period follows, with short flights engaged in, after another 3 weeks . About 6 to 7 weeks after fledging, the young begin to capture their own prey . Shortly thereafter, when the young are around 4 months of age, they become independent of their parents . However, the hawks do not generally reach breeding maturity until they are around 3 years of age . In the wild, red - tailed hawks have lived for at least 25 years, for example, Pale Male was born in 1990, and in Spring 2014 is still raising eyasses . The oldest captive hawk of this species was at least 29 and a half years of age . </P> <P> The red - tailed hawk is a popular bird in falconry, particularly in the United States where the sport of falconry is tightly regulated and where red - tailed hawks are both widely available and allowed to novice falconers . Red - tailed hawks are highly tameable and trainable, with a more social disposition than all other falcons or hawks other than the Harris's hawk . They are also long lived and highly disease resistant, allowing a falconer to maintain a red - tailed hawk as a hunting companion for many years . There are fewer than 5,000 falconers in the United States, so despite their popularity any effect on the red - tailed hawk population, estimated to be about one million in the United States, is negligible . </P>

How many chicks do red tail hawks have