Exercise space

The nest is a crowded space now as the babies test their huge wings. Mama was in and out bringing new branches. The babies seem to also arrange the new housing material. I don't know how their perception changes if they watch something upside down, but it sure looks funny. They look like babies, but every once in a while you get that raptor stare, not entirely babies anymore. If you go back to the blog images a week ago the growth is astonishing.

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Sweet tooth

This is for all squirrel lovers. I saw the squirrel jump into the trash can. I waited. If I had gotten too close the squirrel would have run off with its find. The squirrel reappeared with its back to me, so I had to get close. Whatever it had was good. The squirrel was very protective, back to me, hidden near fence, eating with pleasure. I could see caramel and wrapper, but not the letters for a bit. Finally I saw the "Snick..." . A Snickers bar, large size. And the squirrel ate the whole thing. Sometimes dumpster diving really pays off.

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Afternoon behavior

It's impossible not to project human emotions while watching the hawk family. I've seen the mother preen her babies. I've seen the babies return this favor. I know the babies recognize their siblings. Just look at the facial expressions. Their eyes are exquisite. But these are hawks, wild creatures and feeding time demonstrates that. The afternoon food delivery was a starling. Bits got passed around and then the baby to the right grabbed half the bird and got it all down, feathers, bones, meat,... "I can't believe I ate the whole thing". Remember that commercial? There is a pattern to the behavior......... wak eup, stretch, preen, eat, take a nap, repeat same.

Click on any picture to enlarge, "back" key to return to smaller image.

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Saturday morning hawks

Nothing could have prepared me for the startling growth of the babies. Yes, they're babies, but they have the beginnings of the adult grandeur and strength. Meal time is a riot. They're ravenous. There's always one baby who ends up eating have the kill. How it fits in one mouth and goes down is beyond me. The a.m. meal was a pigeon. I'm including one image showing why it is unwise to stand under a hawks' nest unless you want splat on the head. I'll blog the afternoon images tomorrow.

If you click on an image it will enlarge. To return to the small image use the "back" key. I only learned that trick yesterday. Almost a whole year of blogging and I never knew that. As a

result I'll prep images at a higher resolution so that they look nice enlarged.

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Totally astonished

This short blog is a teaser. I was up at the hawk nest by 8a.m. Nothing could have prepared me for the growth of the babies in the past 48 hours. I'm sure they're going to fledge very soon. More images will follow,..... won't finish the edit till after dark. I want to go back and watch some more. My eyes (and heart) can't get enough of this lovely family.

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Baby grackles

The birds nest under the Westside Highway, so at this time of year one sees lots of fledgling starlings and grackles out on the lawn between the highway and the river. The grackles are big, demanding babies. I've seen them sitting helpless in the grass and waiting in the bushes for a food delivery. They're not as raucous as the baby starlings who "yell" non-stop.

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Afternoon stroll

It took a while to get up to see the hawks, because I stopped to watch baby starlings, baby grackles and a rat who lives in the rocks near the pier. We played peek-a-boo for a while. Smart rat. Up at the hawk nest the babies are even more alert to surroundings. Mama left nest for a while and returned with leaves, fresh padding for very active "playpen".

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