Lil' Bitty Hawks

I have been killing an extraordinary amount of time over the last couple weeks watching the hawk cam.  I wish I could say what it was that fascinates me so about these baby hawks.  I started peeking in on them a couple weeks ago when my friend Sarah posted the link on FB.  I don't blame her, I'm sure she had no idea what kind of ADD inducing monster she had unleashed. 

When I started they were just little fluff balls sitting in the nest in a pile.  Sometimes a beak or a foot, but mostly just white downy chicks in a pile.  This week though, they are notceably larger and their big bird feathers are coming in.  No longer small enough to all stay under a parent's protective wing.  I love it when they all try to get under there.  There's always one that ends up looking out from under the tail feathers. 

The largest one is also the boldest.  It strays close to the edge of the nest which makes me nervous because it is far from steady.  I find myself shouting at my work computer montior for it to get back!  But this little wanderer has better legs than I give him credit.  This week the little bold one has taken to mock feeding of the smaller ones.  How cute is that? 

Yesterday I saw one of the parents swoop in and start to dismember some kind of small rodent.  Gross and cool at the same time.  But nature is often both.  They are all starting to stand up for long periods of time, flex their wing muscles getting them prepared for a day not too far in the future.  Gawd I hope I'm watching on the day they fly away!

And some days, I wish for nothing more than to be one of those bitty hawks resting comfy under someone's outspread wings cuddled up into their feathers.