Great Horned Owl Moves into Hawk Nest 2012

This is year two for the Great-Horned Owls as history tries to repeat itself. Parents moved in early, before the nest owners (Red-shoulded Hawks) could reassert their rights. After all, they had been raising chicks successfully year after year--and now they have to keep building temporary nests as the urgent chick-bearing days approach. See the many years of Hawk Chicks here: http://www.joanrobins.com/Birds/Red-shoulder-Hawk-Nest-Parking

It's March 10 and she's BACK. She doesn't bother to bring stick or leaf, just moves right on in.
April 4
April 18, Yawn!
April 20 That was MY nest for many years. I want you OUT!
April 22, Other parent nearby--crows make it easy to find!
All three visible!!
April 28, we find the Red-shoulder Hawk nest in the Star Academy area.
May 1 is a day to remember. It started out just fine. Two big chicks in front . . .
The take the tags from wildcare of carefully.
And falls all the way to the ground.
One is on the edge, but at some point, goes back into the basket
Hard to blame him or her.

April 13 -- sitting up, probably chicks areoun!
Heavy gloves protect handlers from those budding claws. Wildcare rescues a chick that has fallen. San Rafael, California
But he seems ok

April 1, still sitting
Three chicks!!!!
April 19, do you like my hat?
Today, Sunday April 22, she dive-bombed the nest and then left. The owls went flat.
April 29, look at those wing feathers!
Smaller one is behind them. I go off to work and get a call from Don. No OWLS AT ALL. I call all over--wildcare, humane society, and no one has heard yet what happened. Finally Penny finds out that my friend Roger was there when the hawk finally got serious and knocked all 4 family members out of the nest, one swoop at a time. You can see Roger's pictures here: http://smu.gs/J34Hnf
Their little beaks are like castanets, clackclackclack -- the chicks are so scared.
The chicks are put in two boxes.

neightboring Bushtit
April 16
April 22
April 23
April 27, getting big . . .
Wildcare and the Hungry Owl were going to return the chicks to the nest that evening. When I arrived, poor Mom was hovering near by. But when the huge cherrypicker truck arrived, she took off for the woods.
One makes a jump for it

April 2
April 17, ah, at least two!
Bluebird neighbor
Life is good and boring . . .
Alex and Ann come prepared to put the chicks in their new home, a laundry basket.
First the basket goes up
And up they go
They come back down and decide to leave the two up there and take the one who dropped back to wildcare. They'll try another day.
April 2 I check to make sure there are two. There are.