Red-tailed Hawks, part 2

A pair of Red-tailed Hawks nest every year one block over from us high up in one of the 50-year-old pine trees.  They nest in the same tree, in the same nest, every year, as hawks do.  During the late spring and early summer I can hear them calling from my house and we'll walk over in the evening to watch them.

When I heard them this morning I grabbed the camera and biked over.  One, I think a juvenile female, was sitting on a branch in the sun just taking in what was going on below.

Here she is stretching her wings.

Their nest tree is across the street.  It is impossible to miss - it's the tree with all the bird shit, regurgitated pellets, and rodent bones littering the ground and street below.  But now that they are more independent, the young birds will usually perch on a different tree nearby.  It reminds me of kids not quite ready to get too far away from mom and dad, but not wanting to be too close, either.

As I was taking pictures of the first one, another hawk started calling from a tree a couple houses down.  It flew into the tree directly above me, hid a little in the branches, and checked me out.

Hawks seem like such smart birds.  I think we naturally assume animals that are aware of us or interact with us are smart.  "Hey, that bird's looking at me. Clearly it is a creature of refined tastes and superior intellect."

The cows that hardly budge as we drive past yelling, "Moo!" out the window, or the sparrows that don't seem to know we exist except to flee when we get too close - obviously dumb animals.  If they were at all smart they'd pay attention to me.  Like this guy.  He knows what's going on.

Red-tailed Hawks, in the pine trees on Volk, taken with my Nikon, June 5, 2010.