Recent Bird Fascination

Last week we came across a website put out by Cornell University that features two webcams in bird nests in Ithaca, NY.  One of them is a red tailed hawk, and the other is a Great Blue Heron.  These cameras are live 24/7, so you can tune in at anytime to see what's happening in the nest.

After watching for a few hours,Tanya started to bond and decided to call the mommy hawk Penny (even though the Cornell folks call her Big Red).  The mommy heron has been named Nickel by our family.

In just a few days, we saw eggs hatch and have watched many feedings of baby hawks & herons.  Let's just say they have two completely different styles of feeding!  Penny feeds her babies whatever the daddy hawk, Ezra, brings home for dinner.  That could be a mouse, vole, rabbit, pigeon, chipmunk, or squirrel.  Nickel feeds her babies whatever she can regurgitate.  If you get to watch a feeding, it's really cool - and a bit graphic!

Click the links below to meet Penny, Nickel, and their families!  Warning:  It becomes quite entertaining and you may find yourself checking in on them frequently!


Penny - The Red Tailed Hawk  (Click here to see her live)



Nickel - The Great Blue Heron  (Click here to see her live)


 

Comments

  1. Beautiful creatures... what a privilege to be able to view so close!

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  2. Have you seen a hawk feeding yet? The babies have doubled in size since we first started watching them. Penny can't really sit on them all anymore.

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