Yard Hawks 4: Success!

Ever since the Red-shouldered Hawks in my yard began actively nest-watching instead of incubating I’ve been trying to keep a close eye on the nest for the moment the fluffy heads of the nestlings would poke out. Last week, on my regular after work nest check, I saw this guy.

Then a second, then a third. There were at least three babies in the nest and for a week or so I could hear them whining every time the adults returned, sometimes with food, sometimes not.

Before long, the chicks, now numbering two, were clamoring around the nest, peering down at me when I set up my scope, and basically being pretty cute. It’s kind of unsettling when they give that little raptor cock of the head, putting you square in that magnification dimple in their retina. Almost as if they’re sizing you up. At this point in their lives, they’re pretty much eating machines. I wouldn’t put it past them to try to take down a human because I’m not sure they realize how small they are.

It’s fun to see what the adults are bringing to the nest too. I’ve seen frogs, like in the photo below, which isn’t surprising since I head them nearly every night, but also snakes and small mammals.

What I really want is for these birds to put the fear of death into the local squirrel population, I’ve got a pair of particularly fat ones that visit my feeders that I’d like to order a hit on, but as yet they’ve not been helpful. Squirrels seem like kind of a handful for Red-shouldered Hawks, but I can think of nothing I’d like the babies to realize their lethality on more.

Hmm, that seems like a slightly morbid way to end this post. But baby raptors are nothing if not slightly morbid.. and cute. Very very cute.