Young Hawks in Our Neighborhood

There are lots of young Cooper's Hawks flying around our Carrington neighborhood right now.  Sad to say, none of them were actually raised in the big tree in my front yard.  For three years a hawk couple came back to raise their little ones in the same nest nestled in the sturdy branches.  Time and the weather took its toll on the nest, however, and it's no longer a safe place for raising babies.

Even though the current young hawks weren't raised in my front yard, they seem to like my big trees.  They are constantly flying from limb to limb and swooping down onto the grass to play with each other and eat their prey.  Sad to say, for birdwatchers, the other birds have left the neighborhood.  They know better than to stay within reach of these hungry predators.