Sunday, July 31, 2011

Leaving the Nest


A few weeks ago I posted a picture of one of a pair
of hawks that has been raising their babies in our
oak tree for the past ten years or so. There are two babies
each year as a rule and the process of teaching
 them to fly and be independent takes several weeks.

The weather has been extremely hot and dry this year and 
the babies have been making trips to the bird bath in the back yard. This is a first and we can only attribute it to the fact there is no lake water behind our house right now.



Here are some pictures David took one afternoon as the youngsters
sat in the tree above the birdbath. You can tell they are still very young by their size and the large eyes that aren't hooded yet.


They are pretty much on their own by now.

Quite a few homes have been built in our neighborhood
in the past several years and I am concerned that we are becoming too populated for them.

I am glad the hawks still feel at home here and chose to
raise another family this year.

We are still experiencing extreme heat and I am staying
indoors so not much to share. I am ready for Fall!

2 comments:

Jenni said...

Hi Carolyn! What neat pictures! And I am so glad that the little family can enjoy the water that you provide in your birdbath. It has been so hot and dry here in Texas, too. We thought we were gonna get some more rain from Tropical storm Don, but, it went the other direction.
I hope y'all get some rain and it cools off soon!
Hugs,
Jenni

Cheryl @ TFD said...

Hi Carolyn, great photos of the hawks. It would be interesting to watch them raise their young. It's great you have a birdbath nearby for them to get water from. I know the wildlife must be really suffering, too, from the terrible heatwave a lot of our country is under this summer. Enjoyed your post, have a good day!