Hawks in the backyard

Since early this spring we have had a pair of red tailed hawks nesting in one of the maple trees in our backyard. We watched them build the nest, which is nothing more than a loose grouping of twigs and sticks, in a crook of the tree. For the past several weeks one of the hawks always seems to be in the nest. We think they are sitting on eggs. Both the mommy and daddy hawk take turns sitting. We assume the other one is out hunting. We've only seen the two together a few times. Because of their position in the tree we haven't been able to get a good photo of them. Until tonight!

When it's 100 degrees outside everyone likes to dip their feet in the water.

We we're having dinner and all of sudden one of the hawks was standing in our birdbath. I had put water in it last night and we often see cardinals, robins and bluejays enjoying the bath. But tonight one of the hawks decided to take a dip and all the little birds, not to mention the chipmunks and squirrels, scattered. He (although it may have been the she) stood there for a few moments and then dunked it's tail feathers into the water several times. I was able to get a couple of nice photos from inside the house, but when I moved to get a better angle he took off and landed high up in one of our trees. It was amazing to see that large of a bird in the birdbath. It will be interesting once the eggs hatch.