May 8, 2012

Growing Up

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Believe it or not, these are the baby hawks! At first, I wondered if a different hawk family had moved into the nest. Then I remembered it's been two weeks since I last saw them. They're now approximately four weeks old.  Aren't they big?
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The little ones were on high alert watching several turkey vultures soaring overhead. They called and called, but neither Henry nor Henrietta responded or appeared. They were in the nest all alone. Suddenly, the vultures disappeared and the distinct sounds of Henry and Henrietta urgently calling filled the air for almost ten minutes. The songbirds stopped singing. The squirrels hid. Something was happening...but, what? Suddenly, Henry stealthily swooped into the nest just long enough to drop off a rodent...
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...and then he was off...leaving the two little ones to fill their bellies on their own.
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But, Henry and Henrietta's offspring do not like to share and this little guy was left without any food. So, he started calling again...and again...and again. But to no avail.
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Apparently, hunger pains got the best of him and he attempted to swipe dinner from his sibling. A fracas ensued with wings flapping every which way.
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The scuffle lasted a few minutes and thankfully no one appeared to be injured. The baby with the food held firm and made his way to the other side of the nest to devour his meal, but not in silence. His sibling started calling for Henry and Henrietta again. This time, though, his calls were much more pathetic sounding. I sure hope Hernry and Henrietta had a successful hunting trip and returned with dinner for him. Survival of the fittest sure is tough.  

9 comments:

PerthDailyPhoto said...

Gosh they really have gotten bigger SRQ, they grow so quickly. Beautiful shot of Henry swooping home with the dinner, lets hope the other bub leaves a little to share with the other, I should imagine it would be a full time job for H and H to keep them happy!

Lorraine said...

Wonderful series of photographs, especially Henry in flight! Wow!

Jim Klenke said...

poor think, I hope he got his dinner. Great series of shots.

Kathy said...

What great pictures you got of the family.

Unknown said...

What wonderful photos!! Thank you so much for sharing!

Birdman said...

Beware small rodents!

Dina J said...

They do grow up so fast. Great catch!

Roger Real said...

What great photos capturing this family! I love the photo of dad flying through the pine branches!

Jack said...

These guys grow up fast, don't they? Life in the wild is so scary that I suppose they need to become big enough to fend for themselves.