The baby hawks on camera at Cornell University are about to be a month old. I checked in on them yesterday and since there is a live chat going on during the day I read a post that said the oldest was hatched on April 23rd.
They have really grown fast, like all baby birds do, and those of us who have been watching have fallen in love with them while learning lots about their upbringing. Or I have at least!
They are funny, cute and sometimes a bit gross.
Yesterday the camera operator zoomed in on Mom (Big Red) tearing apart a little chipmunk to feed the kids. I don’t stick around for that, but he had also zoomed in on the hawklets earlier so we could see their feet and talons up close and their new feathers.
We can tell them apart too by the amount of new feathers that have grown in. Each chick was born about a day after the other and the oldest has more dark feathers than the other two. The youngest is a lot more white and fluffy.
These screenshots were taken yesterday, May 22.

At one month they are standing up nice and straight and we’ve learned (from the moderators in the chat) that they can see as well as the adults and have been able to for a while now.

Either their mom or dad was apparently circling overhead – we could hear them – and the babies were watching.

Below: Just as I went to take this screenshot something landed in the railing to the right. I thought it was one of the adults coming into the nest, but after I took the shot I read the chat and they said that it was a female cardinal coming in to check the place out!

Look at those little faces!
Go to the Cornell Hawks site to watch the live camera feed for yourself – they will fledge (or fly away) at 6-7 weeks of age, so  2-3 weeks from now we’ll say good-bye.

And don’t miss the popular CHIPMUNK Escape (sort of) video.

Below:  Amazing how fast they change – here is a shot taken this morning (the next day), May 23rd.

Amazing Growth Overnight-This shot was captured the next morning.

Related articles

• Learning the Hawk Talk (newenglandsnarrowroad.wordpress.com)
• Baby Red-Tail Hawks Are Growing In Their Feathers (newenglandsnarrowroad.wordpress.com)
• Watch at Cornell University – Live Red-tailed Hawk Nest With Three Chicks! (newenglandsnarrowroad.wordpress.com)