My 3rd consecutive year of documenting a family of Swainson’s hawks.
This is their story (and mine) through my lens.
MAY 25, 2019
Now that I’m a “seasoned hawk watcher”, with 2 years of watching under my belt, I can confidently say that right around this time, we usually see Papa and Mama getting settled in their breeding area.
Papa is a handsome fella.
JULY 17, 2019
We refer to the tree in this photo as the “feeding tree” as it seems to be the best location for feeding time. It was so cool seeing Mama and Papa together at the top of the tree. I couldn’t tell if they were feeding or not. They were there for quite awhile. Mama stayed behind for a bit after Papa left.
AUGUST 8, 2019
First time seeing the babies out of the nest tree this season. They are not far from their cozy nest home.
Looking forward to seeing them out exploring more.
AUGUST 11, 2019
The little ones (not so little actually – they are almost as big as the adults right now) are hanging close to the nest tree still. And Mama is keeping a watchful eye on them… and us.
“2019 was the first year we saw 3 babies”
AUGUST 13, 2019
This year, the babies seemed to like hanging out on this apartment building in the neighbourhood. We see them there a lot.
AUGUST 24, 2019
Feeding time! The sky was overcast and I was having a hard time getting the shots to turn out (still practicing my photography!). Saw two babies feeding in 2 different trees.
AUGUST 26, 2019
Every once in awhile, you get to see something really cute in Nature. Even better, you capture that moment forever in a photo that makes you go “awwww”.
AUGUST 27, 2019
While out watching one of the littles on a power pole today, I managed a not-quite-perfect shot of a Swainson’s hawk flying overhead. Oh, that must be Papa. The thing is, it’s not. Just look at the photo of Papa from May 25th of this year.
So what’s the deal? Who ‘dat? *
*As if a sign of things to come, my future self invites you to visit 2023
AUGUST 31, 2019
One of the last photos I took of the babies this year.
Until next year… hopefully!
Project Hawk is not a scientific journal. However, I am fully aware that once the birds have left the nest, they aren’t “babies” anymore – they would more accurately be called fledglings & juveniles. I use baby/babies/young ones/littles/juveniles interchangeably throughout Project Hawk when referring to the offspring of Mama & Papa Swainson’s hawks