Welcome to the Swainson's Hawk Watch

May 15, 2015 - A pair of Swainson's Hawks have been mating and building a new nest in a different neighborhood tree. I will try to start adding a few new 2015 photos of this pair as the summer progresses. (Scroll down on this page to see the 2015 blog posts in chronological order.)

July 3, 2015 - Sadly, the 3 chicks have fallen out of the nest and perished. This blog chronicles activities around the nest until this tragic event, with the July 3 post below the first you will read.

Note! These and additional photos (total = 154) are viewable in this Swainson's Hawks blog 2015 Picasa Web album.

Archive, May 2014 two Swainson's Hawks have been mating in a tree about a block from the old 2010 -2011 nest site. I have not seen them in a nest yet but have seen them mate three times in the same tree over a two day period.

Whenever possible I will try to post photos on this blog again this year, especially if we can identify the nest site where we can see the chicks growing and fledgling. Note! See the first photos below on the May 5, 2014 blog post below.

Archive 2010 & 2011.
In April of 2010, a pair of wild Swainson's Hawks decided to nest in our neighborhood in Boise, Idaho. This "Hawk Watch" will attempt to record words and photographs describing the Hawks behaviors, including the hatching & fledgling of chicks over the spring and summer. Many others who live in the neighborhood also watched the daily activities of the hawks and used this blog to keep up on my own observations and photographs.

Note! May 6, 2011 Two Red-tailed Hawks have settled on the old nest and appear to be laying on eggs now. See blog posts below. Here is a link to 56 Red-tailed hawk photographs from 2011 I uploaded to my Picasa Web Album.

Note! On March 12, 2011 two neighbors reported seeing a single hawk flying around and landing on the nest. Hopefully they will nest here again or nearby and we can continue the blog through 2011.
Note! Please Try to "Follow" the Blog and check in often. I am trying to update this site and the photo album at least once or twice a week. This page scrolls down to the blog entries below this introduction. The first blog entry you will see is the latest one. Scrolling the page down will reveal earlier posts in descending chronological order. And/or you can use the Blog Archive on the right side of the screen to see entries for May, through October 2010 and newer ones for 2011.
Please feel free to share this Blog with your family and friends. The URL you can email to them is:
http://swainsonshawkwatch.blogspot.com

Note ! I am posting "all" of the hawk images to an album in my Picasa Web account. Below is the web URL for that album. You can click on that hot link and/or also click on the Hawk lifting off branch photo to go to that album. As of October 3, there are 600 individual images in the album.

Note! When looking at a single photo in the album use the "full screen" icon for a larger, more impressive size!

Hawk lifting off branch

Tuesday, June 29, 2010

Hawk Chicks Are Growing Fast

Already the Hawk Chicks are growing dark feathers and are visually growing in size.  Three photos below give examples.  The bottom photo shows both chicks in the nest with one pulling food out of the Hawk parents beak.  I was shooting still images, but the chick was really pulling hard at this.  Some video I still have to upload shows the parent feeding both chicks, but one is more aggressive about trying to get the food than the other.
Chick growing in size and developing dark feathers.
 Click on the image to see a larger view - then click again for an even larger view !
Two chicks - one looks visibly larger than the other.
 Click on the image to see a larger view - then click again for an even larger view !
One of two chicks pulling food from Hawk parent's beak.
 Click on the image to see a larger view - then click again for an even larger view !

Please Note that I am also uploading these and several other new images to the Swainson's Hawk Photo Album.  Click Here to See the Album.  (As of June 30, I have uploaded 149 images to the album.)

Tuesday, June 22, 2010

Hawk Chicks are Stretching Their Wings and Growing Rapidly

Today I could see both hawk chicks stretching their wings in the nest. One of the chicks stood up tall in the nest and you can tell they are already growing rapidly.
Click on the photo to see a larger view!

I could see a lot of movement in the nest by both chicks and occasionally a wing would stick out sideways while the chick was stretching. Below is the best photo I got of one wing stretched out.  Wow, it is already starting to get feathers on one side.  And look how long the wing is already.
Click on the photo to see a larger view!

Sunday, June 20, 2010

Hawk Nest Visible Because Sycamore Tree Has Fewer Leaves.

Last Friday, Tim Woodward wrote an article in the Idaho Statesman explaining why some sycamore trees have fewer leaves this year than normal.  A fungus called anthracnose thrives in the cool wet weather we have had this spring and kills the new buds.  This does not kill the tree and new buds and leaves may materialize as the weather warms during the summer.

Click on the image above to see a larger view.

This is good news for those of us who are watching and photographing the Swainson's Hawks and the nest in our neighborhood.  If there were a lot more leaves we probably could not see the new white chicks from the street below as they poke their heads above the nest.

Below is a link to Tim Woodward's article. Note: The Idaho Statesman archives these articles after a few weeks and it may only be available then for a slight fee.

Leafless sycamore trees raise concerns in the Treasure Valley
You can thank the cool, wet weather, but new growth should sprout soon.
Read more: http://www.idahostatesman.com/2010/06/18/1236296/leafless-sycamore-trees-raise.html#ixzz0rQK7XcXr

Video - Hawk Hunting and Hovering as Farmer Mows Hay Field

A pair of Swainson's Hawks have been nesting in our Boise, Idaho neighborhood since late April 2010.. This one is hunting and hovering while a farmer is cutting hay in a field nearby. 

Wednesday, June 16, 2010

Today I had the first view of 2 Hawk Chicks


Today, as I went past the nest I saw the parent hawk leave the nest and these two white heads poked up and moved around.  This is the first view I have had of two individual chicks at the same time.   
Click on the image above for a larger view!

A few minutes later the parent hawk came back to the nest and this one chick started lifting its head and looking around the neighborhood.
Click on the image above for a larger view!

I am now uploading similar images to the Swainson's Hawk WatchNesting Picasa Photo Album.  
Please click on the link above to see all of the hawk images in the album

Monday, June 14, 2010

Hawk Watch sees new neighborhood Straw Bale House being constructed

As the Swainson's Hawks are out hunting for food they fly over a neighborhood site where a new Straw Bale House is being constructed this spring and summer.  I have been walking past the site every day on my dog walks and taking photos with my iPhone and SLR Camera which I have posted on my Picasa Web photo account.  The photos now are updated to June 18. (Click on the hot links here to visit those albums that I plan to keep updating until the house is completed next fall.)

Click on the photos below to see a larger view
Basic foundation started

 City of Boise Building Excellence Award 
for building another Straw Bale House in Boise last year.

Sunday, June 13, 2010

New Hawk Chick

Last evening I finally saw one of the hawk chicks in the nest lift its head up in front of the parent hawk (female).  This is the best photo I was able to take, but I have a few others where the chick is moving its head around and up and down.   
Click on the photo above to see it in a larger view.

A short time later the other parent hawk, probably the male flew by with what looked like a starling in its feet.  He landed on a power pole down the street and I started to walk down to photograph him, but, he was gone when I got there.  When I walked back to the nest the female(?) was feeding this chick and I assume the male brought the meal back and left again.  However, this happened so fas that I did not see it.  I took photos of the parent feeding what I assume was this chick and it looked like it was also putting food down at another spot in the nest.  I never did see another chick, but there may be one or two more.  As a few more days go by we should be able to see others as they also poke their head up to look around.

As time permits I will upload additional photos to the Picasa photo album I have taken this past week.including those of one of the hawks hunting in the hay field a few blocks away.

Saturday, June 5, 2010

Hawk appears to be feeding chicks

Today I saw one hawk fly away from the nest while another one stayed.  I did not see it but possibly the male brought food to the female in the nest.  Then she started poking her head down in the nest and appeared to be pulling and pushing something with her beak down in the nest.  I never could see or photograph any food in her beak as the angle from down on the street restricted my view.  However, I did get this one photo where she opened her beak during this time.  Later she ruffled her feathers, stretched both wings and seemed to settle back down on the nest.
 Click on the image above to see a larger view
  I will upload some of the photos to the Swainson's Hawk Watch Picasa web album including those of the male flying away from the nest, and perching in a nearby tree.

Friday, June 4, 2010

Hawks probably have eggs in the nest.

Note!  The photo below was taken on April 24.
The female hawk has been laying down in the nest and almost invisible from the ground most of the time for about a month.   This indicates she is probably laying on 2 or 3 eggs.  The gestation period for Swainson's Hawks is about 35 days, consequently we should see the adults start to feed the young soon.
Click on the image above to see a much larger view.
Note that I have uploaded more photos showing the hawks around the nest to the Swainson's Hawk Picasa Web album.

The nest is in a Sycamore tree that  is still leafing out. Possibly the leaves will obscure this good view somewhat, but as the young hawks grow we should be able to see them, especially as they feed and later when they start flapping their wings to get ready to fly out of the nest.  Several years ago we helped the Peregrine fund produce an interactive web project describing Raptors including Swainsons Hawks - Habitat - Diet - Reproduction - Name & Interesting Facts.  Click on this link to read more.

FYI, The Peregrine Fund also provides a Webcam page now providing live video of 4 Peregrine Falcon chicks that have recently hatched in a nest on a building in downtown Boise.