June 25, 2004
More babies!
The best thing about birding is the surprises that turn up on your doorstep. Was just walking back from lunch when I heard an unfamiliar mewing call, suggestive of a begging chick. I noticed a couple of people staring up towards the source of the noise: a newly-fledged Cooper's Hawk! It turns out that these birds have been nesting within spitting distance of where I work (my office even looks out in the right direction). I of course jumped straight on my bike to fetch my scope and camera. Many people approached me while photographing the birds - seems like everyone knew about this nest except me! We reckoned there were 3 chicks in total (2 seen, and 1 bird heard, presumably still in the nest). Although lighting was a bit difficult, I managed some pretty good shots of the birds. Here's chick 1...
... and here's chick 2. In the second photo you can actually see it scratching some of the downy feathers off of its head!
Thanks to the people that pointed out these birds - they made my afternoon!
Posted by rjhall at June 25, 2004 11:10 PM