empty nest syndrome

And this morning they were both gone.  :(

 

bye bye birdie

 
It won't be long now.  At least one of the twins is about ready to take off. 

another from yesterday

This picture is a little grainy but still interesting.  The twins are about the same height as their parent to the left but the parent's body and chest are much fuller than the babies.  Feathers?  Muscles?   I left for work a little later than usual this morning (the sun was actually up) and I saw the twins jumping up and down and flapping.  Within the next week they should begin taking their first flights. 

today

the white baby feathers are gone

Rise and shine

It feels good to stretch in the warm sun.

Today we were practicing flapping our wings.

One of these days it will be time to take flight. 

We've got about another 3 weeks before the parents tell us to get out.

 

it never gets old

feeding the chicks

 

Today the two baby chicks are 6 days old.  They are getting stronger everyday.  Mom was tearing up some bits of meat and feeding them.  They were eager to eat. 

The chicks have hatched

Today the chicks arrived.  I see two white fuzzy chicks right now, could there be three?
Here are the birth-dates over the past few years, those Red Tail Hawks are very consistent:

2009:  April 1
2010:  April 9
2011:  Unknown
2012:  April 9
2013:  No chicks this year
2014:  April 8

They usually leave the nest the third week of May, we'll see what happens.  Many more pictures to come!

nice day to snap a few pics

Red tail hawk is back in the nest

Last year one of my red tail hawks passed away (see Nov 2012 blog).  This year, the surviving spouse has remarried and started a new family!  Yippee!   About two weeks ago I saw them rebuilding the nest.  Today one of them is keeping some eggs warm!   I have a great view and I can't wait to take pictures of the babies! 

Black Phoebe's Nest

They moved in on the bracket holding the DirecTV dish. 

We had to move the nest.

Whoops!

Phainopeplas in the hood

Last week I noticed a new bird.  I ID'd him as a Phainopeplas - aka the "silky flycatcher".  He was parked in a pine tree and watched me by tilting his head like a parrot.  Occassionally I'd see him swoop out to catch a bug and then return to his perch in the tree.  A day or two later I noticed a female was with him.  The female is grey with the same red eyes. 

This is what I found when I read up on them.  They are from the Baja peninsula where they have an early spring breeding then they fly to a more mild climate (like Gavilan Hills for instance) for a second breeding season.  They stay for about a month.  Two weeks is spent by the couple keeping the eggs in their nest warm (yes, I spotted their nest at the top of the pine tree) and the next 19 days are spent raising the young.  Then they eventually migrate back to the Baja peninsula. 

They mainly eat bugs and berries but unlike other birds, they have a second stomach that digests the "shell" of the berries, while the inside of the berry goes to the first stomach.  Also, while this bird is known for being kind of quiet, it can imitate some other bird calls including the red-tail hawk's call. 

hummingbird babies all grown up

These are the same two babies I had shown on the April 22nd post.  Apparently they have no trouble flying because they took off like rockets.  Here is their empty nest.

Red tail hawk baby chick update

One baby chick has disappeared from the nest.  It could have been pushed out by it's sibling because of competition for food, or just may have died due to a health problem or other reasons.  Regardless, we're now down to one chick.  The remaining chick has trippled in size since birth 3 weeks ago but still has it's all white fluffy downy feathers.  It's now feeding itself on what Mama and Papa hawk bring to the nest and even spends time grooming it's feathers.  It's about half way through it's "childhood" so to speak.  Prediction:  I'm expecting it to take flight from the nest on or about May 17th.  

***UPDATE 5/19/12:  The chick was there on May 17th...but gone on May 19th....pat,pat,pat...I'm patting myself on the back for the accuracy of my prediction.

Baby hummingbirds

My husband took this photo of two baby hummingbirds in our yard a few minutes ago.  The opening where the two babies are lying is about the size of a quarter.  These two napped peacefully in the sun.  Do you see their black beaks?  Check out how their feathers are starting to sprout. 

A new family is growing for the Red Tail Hawk couple.

The Red Tail Hawk couple have taken to their nest again.  The happy couple have been taking turns sitting on their eggs since February 29th.  By my calculations the babies will hatch on April 16th.  I'm looking forward to finding out if my prediction comes true.  Red Tail Hawks mate for life.  I'll keep you posted on their progress this spring. 

UPDATE:  March 29th.  The parents are doing a terrific job of keeping the eggs warm. 

They sit like mallard ducks on top of the nest. 

UPDATE:  April 9th.  I blew it on my prediction.  The eggs hatched today.  I can see two white fuzzy heads with their beaks wide open begging for food.  Mom is tearing up some meat and feeding them. 

another nest

Pulled this off the side of the house.  I waited until the babies flew the coupe.  It had been inhabited by my "tuxedo"  birds. 

birds nest

Found this on the porch last weekend.  Empty of eggs thank goodness. 

The white you see is dried wild flowers. 

It looks like it was a very soft bed for some cute baby birds to hatch on.

Anna's Hummingbird

The brilliance of the fuscia color has not been captured in these photos.  The color was so vivid and bright it reminded me of Dorothy's ruby slippers in the sunlight.

This is the male bird, the females do not have the magenta heads.  Hummingbirds sure have a fiesty spirit.  Despite being the smallest of birds, they bravely defend their territory (1/4 acre size) against other birds without fear.  They are very talkative, softly but frequently chirping. 

I often see them sitting in my pine trees.