Oren and Ruth nest in the southern archway on the east side of Lyman Hall. (Photos courtesy of Anne Marie Higgins ’76, G’90)
Syracuse University is the proud home to multiple generations of red-tailed hawks who continue a remarkable lineage of these majestic birds on campus.
Three hawk families—all descendants of the original mated pair SU-Sue and Otto—have established separate but adjacent territories around the Syracuse University campus. Together, the families continue the legacy of their predecessors, who raised 28 chicks from 2012 through 2022. As the raptors have garnered a devoted following in the local community and beyond, with bird enthusiasts, students, faculty and alumni eagerly tracking their nesting activities and family developments through livestream cameras and social media updates, their resilience offers the Syracuse campus a powerful demonstration of nature’s adaptation in an urban environment.
Following the tragic loss of the beloved pair SU-Sue and Otto to avian influenza in January 2023, their descendants have returned to carry on their family lines. This year, curious viewers may observe two of the three couples through newly installed cameras. Since 2017, several SU hawk nest cameras have been generously funded by alumna Anne Marie Higgins ’76, G’90 in loving memory of her husband, the Honorable Thomas W. Higgins Jr. The couple were passionate bird watchers who particularly admired red-tailed hawks.
Oren, a 2020 offspring of SU-Sue and Otto, returned to campus in March 2023 with his mate Ruth. The pair initially built a nest in a ginkgo tree and successfully raised two chicks in 2024 after the third chick died in the nest of an unknown cause. The pair relocated this year to one of SU-Sue and Otto’s former nesting sites on the southern archway on the east side of Lyman Hall.
Oren is named in honor of Oren Lyons, an All-American lacrosse player and one of the first Native Americans to attend Syracuse University. Ruth is named after Syracuse alumna Ruth Johnson Colvin, founder of Literacy Volunteers of America and a Presidential Medal of Freedom recipient.
Another pair, Cliff and Ensley, have established themselves on campus light towers. Ensley, a 2016 progeny of SU-Sue and Otto, has been with Cliff since 2021 after losing her first mate. The couple initially nested in a tree near campus, raising two chicks in 2022 and three in 2023. After their nest fell when a branch broke, they relocated to a light tower on campus in 2024 where they successfully raised three more chicks.
This year, the mates have built a new nest on a different light tower. Ensley completed her clutch for the season with eggs laid on March 30 and April 2.
Sarah and Jesse
Sarah, who hatched in 2020 and is Oren’s sibling, was spotted at her parents’ favorite perches shortly after their passing in January 2023. By February, she had attracted a mate named Jesse. Though they built a nest in a tree on the east side of campus that year, they did not produce any chicks. In 2024, the hawks moved to a tree off-campus and raised two chicks. They returned to the same nest this year and both are incubating. Time will tell how many chicks they’ll have in 2025.
Sarah is named in honor of Dr. Sarah Loguen, the first African American physician to graduate from the University’s College of Medicine in 1876. Jesse’s name honors Dr. Jesse Truesdell Peck, a Syracuse University founder in 1870 and the first chair of the Board of Trustees.
