Sunday, August 16, 2009

Proud Pseudo-Mama

I feel like a proud Mama, showing off the pictures of the wonderful things her baby does, which no other baby in the world has ever done before. Sorry about being obsessed with the Cooper's Hawk fledglings. At least one of my babies is successfully hunting! At first I wasn't sure if this was an adult or one of the babies. She looks so competent. Just catch the bird and perch in the pine tree for a leisurely lunch. No fuss! The eye color indicates this is one of the fledglings to me. Do the adults lose that red coloring after the breeding season is over? One of the other fledglings landed on a nearby branch, whistling and begging for a handout. This one just ignored the noise, and didn't even try to mantle her catch and protect it from sibling thievery. How's that for confidence!

2 comments:

Richard said...

Good pictures. As for the red eye color, once they reach adulthood the eye stays red year round.

Arlene Ripley said...

Loved seeing photos of your "babies."
I had been following a Cooper's Hawk nest near our home -- all the way from incubation to nestlings but missed the fledging when we were away for a few weeks. When I next visited, the nest was empty and no birds around. :-(