Seriously Thinking about Flying

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Seriously Thinking about Flying

The nest is very crowded now because our babies are more and more like Hawks – less and less like chicks!  They are taking turns jumping up and down on the nest edge and flapping their nearly full size wings.  One sibling will tire out from the exercise and nestle down for a nap while the other one takes a turn.  Surely, they’ll be airborne within a week!

I’ll miss them, but it’s just as well.  As you can see, the leaves are making visits through the looking glass a challenge.  What a nice opportunity this has been!

Happy Mother’s Day to Momma Hawk

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Mommy's Home!

The babies are getting big, but not so big that they aren’t still enamoured with their mommy. (I don’t think we should ever outgrow that!) They were resting out of sight until she arrived and you can see the Mother’s day greeting she got!

They are flexing their darkening wings and some spots are starting to appear around their shoulders and breasts.  They seem to be imitating mom’s behavior.  When she adjust twigs around the nest, they make adjustments, too.

As it should, curiosity is growing about what lies beyond the nest, but they are still timid about getting close to the edge. It’s just a matter of time before they will, as Maya Angelou wrote, “leap on the back of the wind and float downstream until the current ends.”

 

Hawk Family Update

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Growing Up Fast!

I was getting concerned this morning that I was only seeing one chick.  However, after about an hour and a half of increasing worry, two chicks peeked over the edge as mom looked on proudly.

They are house trained now- doing quick 180s with their butts up to fire poop over the edge like little cannons.  Keep your distance!

Baby Hawks!

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Red-shouldered Hawk Chicks

Our Red-shouldered Hawk neighbors are proud parents of at least two fuzzy little chicks!   Mom and dad have been making the nest deeper for the big occasion and the babies are just now barely grown enough to see over the edge. You’ll have to look closely to see them.  Just click on the photo to see a larger version.

Meal Time Again!

From what I have read, they grow up fast and will be venturing from the nest within about three weeks. Meanwhile, mom and dad will be hard at work feeding their ever hungry chicks!

The line of sight through the leaves is still there, but the leaves are really closing in.  I’m having to scout around quite a bit to see them.  That’s good for their safety, though.  Well played, Red-shouldered Hawks!

Firsts

Rose-breasted Grosbeak

  • Firefly 3/25/2012 (Don’t remember seeing one this early before)
  • Indigo Bunting 3/21(They like the millet that falls to the ground from our feeders)
  • Migrating Rose-breasted Grosbeak 3/22 (They like platform feeders if you are hoping to see one)

New Camera!

Home-made Pinhole Camera

Yes indeed, I have a new camera.  Made it myself, too!  This pinhole camera was fabricated from a cardboard media mail envelope and other household items.  A big thanks to Nick Dvoracek for putting the plans on his web page. And a big thanks to my neighbor Pat for donating the rubber band that I needed for my own design modification: a remote control shutter release. :-)

How does this relate to wildlife photography?  If I can get a bird to land on the string that opens the shutter, it will take a picture! Maybe, I should end that previous sentence with a question mark….   Anyway, I see many months of experimenting before actually making this work, but I’m just the nerd for the job!

 

 

Red-shouldered Hawks Nest

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This spring has given Karla and I some very special back-door neighbors.  A pair of Red-shouldered Hawks started building a nest  two or three weeks ago.   I’ve been checking on them every morning before I leave for work and they are incubating eggs so we should have some babies hatching in mid to late April.  Then, we’ll have another 6 to 8 weeks of entertainment while the babies grow into juveniles and leave their nest.

Cornell was a bit sketchy this time on their RSH information so here’s an additional link from an Ohio Red-shouldered Hawk study.

Red-shouldered Hawks

The above photo was from this morning, Mar 24th, when they were trading incubation duties.  I watched for about an hour before the exchange occurred.

I read somewhere that the RSH will build multiple nests and then choose the best one.  These are hard-working birds!  And these creatures can get frustrated with construction projects just like we do.  I watched this guy fight with getting that limb in a spot where it didn’t want to go.  He finally tossed it to the ground – just like we do with our lumber!



The spring foliage is getting thicker so I don’t know how much longer I’ll be able to continue getting photos.  I’m really tempted to get tree climbing gear so I can build a complete family photo album for this young couple!
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