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! 

wet feathers ain't no fun

Hawk down

This morning's walk found a hawk down, the last few minutes of his life slipping away.  When I spotted him I assumed he was dead and turned him over on to his breast.  I was surprised to see his eyes move and his tail feathers rustle just a bit.  I didn't find any trauma on him, either old age or disease took him.  I returned with my camera and snapped this photo, by that time he was gone.  He was a big bird.  About 18 inches from beak to tail.  Sad to see him go. 

 

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.

red tail hawks hatched today

Yesterday Mom and Dad nested on the eggs and kept them warm.  This afternoon I noticed Mom was standing on the side of the nest instead of on top of it.  Then I saw two white fuzzy heads pop up with their beaks open begging for food.  Mom complied by placing smalls shreds of meat into their mouths. 

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. 

Show me a brave squirrel...

and I'll show you a dumb squirrel.  

Five baby squirrels played right below this small hawk on the gazebo. 

Click on the picture for a close up.

We watched them for about 10 minutes, the hawk never moved a muscle 

and he didn't take his eyes off them.  I hope he ate them all.

Just a pic of the Red Tail Hawk