As always, a parent haggard keeps an eye on them - in this case, Mom, who is being pestered by a mocking bird.
The other eyass sits on a lamp pole watching the show.
Mocking birds HATE hawks, and attack them with impunity. The hawks have endless patience, showing only mild, understandable irritation when these pesky little birds dive bomb them.
Occasionally, the hawk will snap its beak at the pest, but more often will fly away when it's had enough.
Like most kids, the eyasses are fearless about where they play and explore. The current construction site behind the Art Museum has some cool machinery to jump on.
Well-placed perching fences enable them to hang together...
... and show off their synchronised landing skills.
Do not (repeat) Do not try this at home: Professional landers on a closed fence!
And of course, the Barnes Museum construction site is still the destination of choice when the urge to perch in a really noisy, dangerous area....
... surrounded by construction workers...
... is just too much to resist.
To a curious young eyass, a dumpster is also irresistible - ugh!
Occasionally, the hunter appears to become the hunted. Some of the hawk-battle-hardened Parkway squirrels apparently believe attack is the best form of defense...(squirrel right at the bottom)
... in the form of a stare down.
This rookie eyass seemed just a bit clueless as to what should happen next.
But Mouse 101 has definitely been mastered...
...with all material thoroughly internalized!
This eyass's curiosity was piqued by its own shadow, possibly the first time it had ever seen it.
Can I catch that? Maybe... if I walk quickly.
Whoa - that's not me!
But what have we here? Perhaps this hawk was imprinted by the spatula in its nest?
The early morning sun highlights the beauty of these hawks at rest...
... on the prowl...
... and in flight...
The elevation of the Art Museum allows us to view them from above as they hunt along the grassy embankment of Spring Garden St.
On Sundays, this street is closed to traffic to enable runners, bikers and joggers traffic-free access to the West River Drive. The eyasses seem to enjoy the endless parade of activity. Here's Carolyn Sutton photographing one of her buddies who is posing perfectly!
The ability to swivel their heads beyond 180 degrees - shades of The Exorcist! - saves them from having to shift their feet.
This year, it is striking how rarely, if ever, we hear the eyasses calling for food, in marked contrast to 2009, the first season of the Franklin Institute hawk nest. That summer, one could hear the characteristic "seagull call" almost every morning as the hungry eyasses made it known they needed a food drop. The haggards are now very experienced in raising their young, and have done a phenomenal job of keeping this year's eyasses well fed literally from the moment they hatched. These eyasses seem much more advanced in every way from the previous two broods.
Because of their silence and the increasing size of territory through which they range, it is becoming steadily more difficult to locate them in the mornings. On Wednesday, the only hawk I found at 5:45 AM was Dad up on his usual lamp post near the Rat Tunnel.
For the next hour and a half, Joe, Scott, Carolyn and I split up and searched from Logan Circle to the Art Museum; from the Franklin Institute to the Fairmount Water Works; from the Free Library to the Rodin Museum, keeping in contact by cell phone about our fruitless search. Not a hawk to be seen.
Finally, just after 8 AM, Carolyn located the eyasses romping in Logan Square where I had just been ten minutes previously. By the time I arrived, one of the eyasses had moved to the ultimate adventurous hawk perch...
...the Franklin Institute's Budd BB-1 Pioneer, the first stainless steel plane ever built.
Degree of perch difficulty = 10+. It's not even a perch! What a show-off!
We found the other eyass in a shady grove of trees near the nest.
He then hopped down onto the fence along the Vine Street Expressway.
Here's Joe photographing him. What you don't see here is the proximity to the six lanes of traffic thundering along down below. My lens is poking through the railings for this shot.
As we passed under the nest, we noticed that it had had its annual spring clean by the Franklin Institute to remove all the slicings that if left would erode the stonework. Additionally, there had been some careful "pruning" of the nest sticks to reduce the considerable height of three year's worth of nest material.
Here's how it looked in May!
...and then in June.
This will give a larger surface area for the haggards to begin piling on their sticks, a process which has already started, indicating their total satisfaction with this nest.
And now this marathon blog post must end! Here are three gorgeous head shots of these strong, healthy young hawks who are ready to take on the world. Each time we see them now may be the last. As Carolyn Sutton recently said, "You just can't predict much in Nature. These hawks will constantly keep us guessing. With luck and persistence, we may be able to keep up with this family for a little while longer."
Posts
Excellent post! Those 3 headshots are phenomenal. What stunning birds. I am always a little sad to read about the fun adventures these 2 are having, knowing number 3 is still in the hospital. I can't wait till she can catch up in progress to her siblings.
ReplyDeleteAgreed Michele! We know you and RIck and everyone at SVRC are taking good care of our Squishy and she will soon be flying high like her sibs!
ReplyDeleteMeanwhile, great blog Della and, as always, the pictures are fantabulous!!!!
MMGgolfer
Gorgeous gorgeous, as usual! And the commentary is first rate. How about a book????
ReplyDeleteOh Della! You are a true weaver- they way you bring together the evolving adventures, pictures, cast of characters to tell this story, AND to put it in a context of history, architecture and previous years eyass raising. I love the Degree of perch difficulty = 10+. Thanks...Donna
ReplyDeleteJust wonderful. All of it. What a great group of photographers along with Della's narrative.
ReplyDeleteIt is almost as if the eyasses look for the most interesting perches.
They are such beautiful birds, too.
Bravo, Della and photogs, bravo! This post and the last are exceptional. Thanks so much for bringing us into the lives of these marvelous urban hawks.
ReplyDeleteWonderful, wonderful, wonderful - as always! And you *really* should think about doing a book. You already have at hand the most amazing photos & lots of great anecdotes from your hawkstalking as well.
ReplyDeleteWhat a spectacular family saga marvelously told and splendidly photo graphed.
ReplyDeleteEspecially love the Hawk chasing his/her shadow and the portraits are magnificent.
As always, deepest appreciation for all your efforts!!
Thank you! Thank you! The photos and story are awesome! Hope you know how much it is all appreciated and enjoyed, and how much we've all learned. It's also so great to stay in touch with this bird family out of the nest that we followed so closely, cheering on every mildstone...and continue to do so with your fabulous photos and narrative. Thank you, thank you! Ann in Devon, PA
ReplyDeleteWhat a delightful read!! As always I enjoyed your commentary along with all of those amazing shots -thanks to some old photo-friends and some that are new this year-on our beautiful Hawks and their never-ending adventures. I feel blessed to be included in this life experience albeit its just reading. Thank you, thank you, thank you all so very much for all your hard work and dedication. almar
ReplyDeleteAbsolutely more stunning and beautiful than any model walking down a runway!
ReplyDeleteGod knew what he was doing in creating animals and humans (without makeup).
That was a lovely way to close out my day. Thanks for taking the time to do it.
ReplyDelete--happy_looker
Utterly amazing photos and your usual wonderful commentary. We are so grateful for you devotion and vigilance.
ReplyDeleteAnn
Thank you and your like-minded friends for keeping us up to date on the daily shananagans of the eyass'. Your commentary and their photographs make it almost as if I was right there beside you. I send you may heartfelt appreciation and sincere thanks.
ReplyDelete