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Steve Wolfe  > The Red-Tail Hawks of Kaiser Hospital, Harbor City, California > June 5 --- Increasingly On Their Own
The 3 hawklets are now nearly 2 months old and in terms of size are virtually indistinguishable from their parents; only their markings and color identify them as young ones. They're spending more time apart from one another and are roaming around the hospital area formed by the Pacific Coast Highway/Vermont/Normandie Avenue triangle. They don't appear to have ventured across the streets yet, preferring to stay close as their parents are still providing the food. The parents (Mom mostly) are beginning to drop off live prey so the hawklets can learn to kill, but it's hard to see as they're usually on the tops of buildings. So this was a week for refining flying techniques and looking into windows while waiting for the aerial "catering truck" to come along...
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Steve Wolfe > It's June 5 around 5pm and I notice Mina on the top of the Lakeside building tearing up food; instead of delivering it directly to the hawklets, it seems like she now  drops it off on rooftops around the hospital.  Jen (still wearing the red band) has been waiting on a ledge then sees Mom whereupon she ---
Steve Wolfe > flies off to retrieve the food.
Steve Wolfe > It's on top of the Lakeside building where I work.  As I watch Jen looks around for a bit almost as if she's expecting help from Mom --- but she's not getting any.
Steve Wolfe > Looks like it's a de-headed squirrel...
Steve Wolfe > Here's a view of how far away I actually was when taking this sequence.  It's becoming more difficult to take closeup shots as time goes on, but my Panasonic FZ20 with its huge zoom can still pull things in.  And it looks like 2 sparrows are curious about what's going on...
Steve Wolfe > Here they are up close.  Do they know that Jen is a bird-eater?  Perhaps they're taunting her, knowing she hasn't hunted for  food on her own yet.  Nyah, nyah, can't get me...
Steve Wolfe > This is a good picture of what Marianne, a fellow hawkwatcher, calls "pantaloons", i.e., the feathered part of the legs.
Steve Wolfe > A raptor has 4 talons, the longest of which is on the hind or back toe, which you can see here. It's called the "hallux" and is the equivalent of the human big toe.  Along with the curved bill, the talons are the Red-tailed hawk's main weapons and are extremely efficient.
Steve Wolfe > Jen takes off with her food.  It's amazing to think that she probably wouldn't have been so agile just a week before this.  She's beginning to handle herself like a pro....
It's June 5 around 5pm and I notice Mina on the top of the Lakeside building tearing up food; instead of delivering it directly to the hawklets, it seems like she now drops it off on rooftops around the hospital. Jen (still wearing the red band) has been waiting on a ledge then sees Mom whereupon she ---
 > It's June 5 around 5pm and I notice Mina on the top of the Lakeside building tearing up food; instead of delivering it directly to the hawklets, it seems like she now  drops it off on rooftops around the hospital.  Jen (still wearing the red band) has been waiting on a ledge then sees Mom whereupon she ---
It's June 5 around 5pm and I notice Mina on the top of the Lakeside building tearing up food; instead of delivering it directly to the hawklets, it seems like she now drops it off on rooftops around the hospital. Jen (still wearing the red band) has been waiting on a ledge then sees Mom whereupon she ---
Camera: Panasonic (Dmc-fz20) |
More details: exif |
Original size: 834px x 721px |
Current: 347px x 300px |
Other sizes: Small • M • L |
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Keywords: june
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