My noisy neighbors

Here they are all four of them. The noisy neighbors, the Red Tailed Hawks. One is swooping in, one is perched on the steeple points, and the other two are on the roof points.

Mommy and Daddy and the two Hawk kids. They are congregating on their favorite perch, the church steeple and roof that is behind my house.

I've seen the two young ones often together perched up there, watching, waiting, and swooping on and off the roof. They have been heavily harassed by the black birds, mockingbirds, and any other group of birds that take alarm at their presence. Today, two were perched up there, each with feathers from a different part of their body plucked and crumpled. One had a wing feather quite out of place, and the other had a very rumpled look on its chest. I can only imagine this was caused by a very close encounter by another feathered foe trying to drive them away.

But today, I got a real treat, because all four of them were together. One was lucky in the hunt and had an exquisite meal of tendons, muscle and guts which was eaten quicky on top of the telephone pole. I'm assuming it was one of the adults, because one of the juvies was in the nearby tree, screeching and begging for a tidbit! NO, NO, MY YOUNG PRINCE, you are now big enough to hunt for yourself, so GO FIND A RABBIT OF YOUR OWN!

The plaintive cries of the youngsters goes unheeded, but you can hear it almost constantly. They are always in the church area, which has some open space around it. Besides those points on the roof, the many appendages on the steeple make fine hawk vantage points. And my deck is a perfect place to sit and watch their antics, and watch them try to dodge the angry birds who are trying to get them to FIND ANOTHER NEIGHBORHOOD! Everybody hates noisy neighbors! Especially ones who can eat you as you sleep!