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May 5:
Today Jay walked all about the nest and could not see Roxie's tail at all. Concerned, he turned to walk back to the house. Suddenly Roxie came out of the nest and flew across to the north. Soooo she IS able to get down into the nest in such a way that her tail can't be seen. Crafty mother hawk!! For sure she is incubating eggs now, and we will do our best to keep from disturbing her.
May 11:
This morning my neighbor Sylvia came walking her Shih Tzu Mr. Lucky. As we chatted, we heard Roxie calling from an oak tree to the northeast of the nest, across the street. We could see her there, and as we watched, Rufous flew to her with prey, and -- Oops! He dropped it! Perhaps we distracted him. I hope he was able to retrieve Roxie's meal once we moved on.
May 13:
We observed Roxie perched on the side of the nest. This is a likely sign that one or more of the chicks has hatched. It is also close to the estimated hatch dates from prior years. Rufous continues his almost constant vigil from the cypress tree close to nest tree.
May 20:
Roxie has now begun to perch on the limb above the nest where she maintains vigil over her hatchlings. So it is almost certain that the eggs have hatched. How many are there? We must watch and wait to see.
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May 21:
Today Roxie flew to the cypress tree and began breaking off cypress boughs. She will use these to line her nest and attempt to camouflage her small brood from interlopers.
May 22:
Jay reports seeing movement in the nest! Perhaps it won't be long before tiny hawklets appear. Roxie and Rufous are busy feeding the nestlings. This morning we watched as Roxie de-feathered a small bird in the cypress tree before flying back to her nest with it. Later on, Jay and I heard her calling from the cypress tree; she then flew up to the neighbor's chimney for a rendezvous with Rufous, who had fresh prey waiting for her. He flew down like a blue blur, no doubt to keep an eye on the nest while Roxie was away. Then a shower of feathers began to drift down from above, as Roxie prepared another meal for her little ones.
Continue to Chapter 8: Baby Hawks!
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