This photo was submitted by Briarlake neighbor Stephanie Babbitt, who writes:

Red-shouldered hawks mate monogamously and remain in the same nesting area for their adult lives. Their territory tends to range around one to one-and-a-half square miles. They typically return to the same nesting site for several years in a row, and mating season will begin for them in a few weeks. The upshot of all this: the bird in the picture isn’t just passing through; he or she lives here along with a mate, and the area under consideration for development is part of his/her territory and nesting ground.

Red-shouldered hawks are a protected species in the city of Atlanta. Perhaps DeKalb County will someday offer the same sort of protection to avian residents of its urban forest.