July 4:
Today I walked over to take a look at the nest. As soon as I got within 100 feet or so from nest tree, Mama Hawk flew out to the roof top of the closest house, screaming at me in no uncertain terms. I went no closer, but took a few photos of her before I made my apologies and walked away. I will write more about this in a later chapter.
July 6:
| Today I went for a short hike. As I left my house and headed toward the tunnel that underpasses a bridge on our street, I came face to face with a bobcat! Urban bobcats are common in our area, but this was the closest I had come to one in broad daylight. As soon as the bobcat saw me, he turned around and headed back into the tunnel. I fumbled for my camera, and managed to snap a photo of him after we came out of the tunnel. |
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I continued with my hike, finishing up by walking south on busy MacArthur Blvd. so I could view the Cooper's hawk nest. As I was nearing the nest, I saw a hawk flying across the street from nest tree. There was no sign of the fledglings in nest tree. Very close to home, I could hear bluejays squawking. I followed to the source of the racket, and there were two Cooper's hawk fledglings in a large tree, jumping from limb to limb in pursuit of the bluejays. |
July 7:
Jay and I both continue to hear agitated bird calls, and we have seen adult Cooper's hawks flying about. It appears the hawks have returned to the region of their territory that is close to us!
For about a week, a Mississippi kite has been hunting in Rufous' territory. He returns time and again to one of the tallest cypress trees and perches there, watching for a large, fat flying insect.
Click to Enlarge.
We never realized what a prize our little Wild Kingdom has become until we saw our old friend, the great blue heron, express his displeasure by parking himself in the tree chosen by the kite as a hunting perch.
Continue to Chapter 10: The Fledglings Come Home
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