The Hawks Return

Last year we had a great deal of enjoyment watching a pair of red-shouldered hawks raise a family. (You can see those posts starting here and following the links).  At the time I wondered if they would return to the same nest, and I am happy to report they did!

This year they seem to have fewer babies, which is probably for the best since last year one got pushed out of the overcrowded nest.  So far we have only spotted two babies.  (They are easier to hear than to spot because they are very, very vocal when they are hungry!)

Their nest is in a pine tree in my neighbor's yard, right across from our driveway.  This is a bit unusual because there are not many pine trees where I live.  Most of the native trees are some variety of oak (primarily post oak) or mesquite.

This pine tree is probably appealing because it is so much taller than any of the other trees around, giving the hawks a great view of the neighborhood.  They appear to be totally unbothered by all the activity taking place underneath their tree.  If these babies are like last year's, when they get bigger they will peer curiously over the side of the nest at any basketball games going on in our driveway.

Here you can see the beautiful markings on the mother bird as well as some of the materials used to make the nest.

Taking pictures of them from the ground is always a challenge.  I have to zoom my camera as far as it will go and aim in the general direction of the nest.  I can't tell what I've gotten until I download the photos onto the computer and blow them up a bit.  I did manage to get one good one of mother and baby:)