The woman who lives in the home beside this nest thinks they’re sharp-shinned hawks, and they seem to have the square tail (Coopers hawks are rounder, apparently) so I’m not inclined to dispute her.
I shot this Monday, at about lunchtime. I had headed out for a fast walk in the sun, aiming vaguely for Hastings Park, when I heard the baby birds crying and saw both parents swooping in, presumably with shredded mice or other delicious take-out. There weren’t a lot of good angles, and for a long time I was just peering through a hole in the foliage, staring up a bird butt and feeling my neck cramp as I waited to see if she’d show her face. I waited long enough, in fact, that I eventually lay down with my zoom pointed at the gap. My primary accomplishment at that point was in not lying on a bee.
Eventually I circled the tree, found some other gaps, and the bird moved into one, allowing me to take this shot. Afterward, I decided I wasn’t quite up to going all the way to the park. So I circled back, grabbed a California roll, and came home.
