Neighborhood nests

Nesting season is well underway in the neighborhood. A few months ago, we found a bulky nest in the forest of Gabriel Park.

 

 Every once in a while, I see a Cooper's Hawk zoom to the nest, the dark mass in the photo above. I expect there will be more action at the nest when the nestlings grow larger and hungrier. 

Deeper in the forest, I heard the buzzy squawks of a baby Northern Flicker and found a large nestling looking out from a cavity in a broken redcedar. There is another flicker nest near our house, better hidden than the one above. Every ten minutes or so, the boisterous begging begins when the parents arrive with food.