Hawk Eye

In Tandem

 

Mob(bed) Scene

When you are a hawk just minding your own business in the top of a very tall pine tree and the crows decide to harass you repeatedly...note that the hawk doesn't do anything except look up at them. 
 

Flying/Floating

 

A Visitor

 

Imagine my surprise and delight when I looked out the window and saw this gorgeous bird in the fountain. I believe it to be a juvenile Cooper's hawk (though I am having a bit of a hard time saying for sure...). He or she stayed there for about 20 minutes or so, mostly just standing with a bath or two. 

Feather pants! 

So so cool...this is only the second time that I've seen a hawk in our fountain. Of course, the whole time I kept thinking "stay away, little goldfinches, stay away." 

Young'uns in a Tree

 

I was out walking at the end of the day and heard what I at first thought might be a seagull...until I realized that it was coming from a 50-foot high eucalyptus tree (not a place for a gull). It was sort of a keening cry. I looked up into the tree and saw this hawk, which I believe to be a red-tailed hawk fledgling who was calling to a parent to come and feed it. (They know how to hunt but are not very good at it; their parents leave them for most of the day but will come and feed them eventually).

Then I realized there were TWO of them!

But wait! There were THREE of them. 

Such gorgeous birds...it feels like a privilege to observe them. 

Sitting in a Tree...

 

Periodically over the past few weeks, I have heard a raptor calling insistently. One day I looked out front--and across the street and 50 feet up--and saw these two hawks (I'm not sure which species, alas; red-tailed hawks are most common there, but the smaller bird does not have a red tail). 

The smaller one on the lower branch was looking up at the other bird and screeching. Then it took off while the other stayed put. I do think it was a parent and juvenile...the juvenile was begging to be fed and then finally decided it needed to go off and find something for itself. Fascinating!

Hawk on a Pole

 

Not the sharpest photo, but look at that profile (and lovely tail).

Watching

 This gorgeous hawk was just sitting on the wires, watching. (Not great photos, alas, taken on my phone and zoomed in.)

Majesty

 

A bit blurry, but look at this lovely...it's either a Cooper's Hawk or a red-tailed hawk. 

Hawkish

 A lovely Cooper's hawk hung out on the telephone pole behind our house for a while this afternoon. He/she was calling (as can be seen in photo below). We most often see Red-tailed or Red-shouldered hawks around the 'hood, so it was cool to see/hear this one.

Bye-bye.