June 14, 2014
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Two days ago, Roxie began guarding the chicks from a branch about three to four feet above the nest. It is the same vantage point that Henrietta chose last year. Roxie can watch every movement her chicks make, and swoop down on an intruder at a moment's notice.
The sun was behind her, so this photo is not the best. I will try to catch her again posed like this. She still has not molted her juvenile plumage.
I turned the camera to the nest, just in time to see two chicks jump up, but before I could focus on them, Roxie had somehow sent them the alert to lay low, and I saw no more.
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June 16, 2014
I can see movement in the nest and an occasional glimpse of a downy outline, but no chicks peering over the edge of the nest yet. I believe the nest bowl is quite deep, and the chicks are safely contained at the bottom of the nest -- for now.
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Later in the day, I saw a climber -- a chick struggling to reach the nest rim. He must be so curious to see the world outside the nest!
You can see the climber's foot, and it is huge! The foot looks almost as large as the chick itself, and long sharp talons are ready to grasp anything within reach. It won't take the young hawk long to grow fast enough to catch up with his feet!
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Continue to Chapter 10: Hello Butch!
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