Yesterday morning I had a bird tour at the Park. Despite the extreme heat (by tour time in the low nineties, with a high dewpoint), four people showed up and we had a wonderful time, sticking to the shade and checking out the local birds that choose to spend their summer with us.
We were on our way to look at the hawk nest in the riparian area
Cooper’s hawk nest
when a fellow docent, along on the tour for the fun of it, silently pointed to a bird sitting on a branch above the stream. It was one of the baby hawks!
Baby Cooper’s Hawk at Tohono Chul Park
The picture doesn’t really show how relatively small this little guy is. The photo does show the baby fluffy feathers that haven’t finished molting. To me, it looked a little uncertain as it moved about on the branch, possibly trying to get up the nerve to jump—or fly!—to another one. A little searching revealed a parent hawk nearby, watching over the little one.
What a cutie. he looks like he's ready to fly off and find a pigeon for lunch.
ReplyDeleteWe don't have pigeons in the Park. And he's too young to catch a dove or a quail. But I'm sure his parents are keeping him well-fed. We saw either the same bird or another in the same general area today. I don't know if both chicks are still alive, but it will be great if we end up with two new hawks.
DeleteLove the photo of the baby hawk! Glad you pointed out the size. As soon as I read that, I could resize him in my mind.
ReplyDeleteThe people on today's birdwalk were surprised how BIG the baby was... till they saw its parent. Just love these little guys!
DeleteExciting morning. Are you heading there this morning for the queen? Sue
ReplyDeleteSeeing the Queen last night was enough. I'll probably post about it today. There were a gazillion nighthawks and bats at dusk.
ReplyDelete