Ready to soar

Okay, this is my last hawk posting.

Off and on during the day for the past couple of months my eyes have been diverted to the live cam and the nesting hawk family at Cornell University in New York state. From laying eggs in a snowstorm and then the hatching of the three eggs, to the first flight, I have seen it live with many other viewers. Now the baby hawks are grown and fledging – leaving the nest.

Two of them have already left and then returned. This screenshot is #2 baby who stood on that metal ledge with his wings wide-stretched just enjoying the breeze it seemed.   He stood like that a good long time and I loved the moment.

I will never look at hawks the same way again.  I am watching less and less now (mostly because I need to get some work done!) but the experience was just amazing. We were up close and part of that family and they never even knew that humans were taking great interest in their daily lives.

I have also learned so much from the moderators on the live chat who constantly answer questions, sometimes over and over, with such patience. The camera can swivel so we all had a good idea of what was going on around the babies each day thanks to the skill of the operators.

This is the last video I will post, which was made my Cornell, and it takes us through the first hatchlings showing up in April, to the first flight of chick #1 on June 6th. Enjoy!

Related articles

• Learning the Hawk Talk (newenglandsnarrowroad.wordpress.com)
• The Baby Hawks at At One Month Old (newenglandsnarrowroad.wordpress.com)
• June Fledge By Baby Red-tails (newenglandsnarrowroad.wordpress.com)