Herons

Here's the first shot we got of the baby herons this morning.  They have the same wispy-looking feathers as the adults - very fun!  We are waiting to see them more zoomed in (not sure if this camera can do that?) and to hopefully watch them eat so we can compare them to the hawks. 

Eagles, Too!

We have been hearing about a bald eagle nest, too, so today we googled it and found it.  These eagle babies are a month old now and quite large compared to our hawk eyas!  Fun to watch! 
Click here to watch the bald eagles!

 How fun that we have actually been studying zoology (specifically birds) in science right now, too!  

More Bird News!!

To update on the red-tailed hawks, we have three beautiful fuzzy eyas now.  It's amazing that they can eat meat right after birth! 

And the herons are developing, too!  This morning we got a picture of two eggs with pips in them, and then this evening we could se their beaks moving around in much larger holes.  Tonight I saw on their facebook page that the first two babies are completely hatched!  Very fun!  We are curious as to what baby herons look like, compared to baby hawks.  And apparently they don't eat meat right away but are fed regurgitated food from their parents for a while, so we'll see! 

This morning...

 This evening...

"Our" Hawks

I am sure everyone has been waiting with baited breath for a hawk update.....so, here it is.  :) 

We have been enjoying watching the red-tailed hawk nest at Cornell, as well as the Great Blue Herons, and trying to guess when they will hatch.  On Sunday the 22nd, the first pips were confirmed, and by Monday morning, amidst a lot of snow (!!!), the first baby hatched!!  The male and female fed it off and on throughout the day, so we were able to get some glimpses of it!

Waiting....

Why, hello baby!!

Here are mom and dad hanging out in the nest....

And eyas number 1 is hungry....

 But look, there's a second eyas hanging out in there (as of Tuesday afternoon)! 

 And number three is working away in here!
 (Apparently it takes about 50 hours from the first pip for an eyas to emerge, so we 're thinking maybe Thursday afternoon?)

See the red-tailed hawk family for yourself here!