it never gets old

wildflowers covering the hillside

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

gathering 'round the ol' watering hole

So handsome!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

My husband took this picture from our living room window.  How handsome is this fellow?

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! 

Mountain Lion Attack in Perris

PERRIS — The mauling of a man by a mountain lion in Perris, which left him with severe bites and cuts, prompted a wildlife expert today to urge people to take precautions for their kids and pets.
The big cat’s attack was at about 8 a.m. Saturday in a homeless camp near Highway 74 at Navaho Road, close to a shopping center west of Interstate 215. That site is a brushy vacant lot surrounded by subdivisions and businesses.
“We are asking nearby residents to be aware there is a lion in the area and to be careful with their pets and children,” said Lt. Patrick Foy in a statement from the California Department of Fish and Wildlife.
The 50-year-old victim suffered puncture wounds and bite marks to the base of his skull, and other injuries that were described as severe lacerations to his neck, arms and back, Foy said.
There were no witnesses to the attack, said Dan Sforza, assistant chief with the state Department of Fish and Wildlife.
Dispatchers received a call at 8:10 a.m. from a resident describing a bloody homeless man, outside the house and asking for help. The victim had managed to walk to the home despite his injuries, Foy said.
Arriving paramedics took the injured man to Menifee Valley Medical Center, Sforza said. The man’s name was not released, but he underwent surgery Saturday night and his condition was not immediately known, officials said.
Fish and wildfire authorities have not interviewed the man, but they think a mountain lion attacked him. Baited traps have been set up to snare the big cat, and DNA samples were collected from the man’s wounds to match with the animal if it is captured, officials said.
If found, the mountain lion will be destroyed “in the interest of public safety,” the state Department of Fish and Wildlife reported.

Great blue heron

 

He stood 6 feet tall, and was amazing to watch.  He walked across an empty field but took flight when he saw my dog.   The wing span is 6.5 feet.  So big and majestic.  What a beauty