Semi Tropic Spiritualists' Tract: Red Tailed Hawk Nest Getting Crowded

Video: Gary Vlahakis, May 19, 2012.  The 4 chicks are starting to get some adult (brown) feathers.  (Best viewed in full screen HD.)

One of the chicks is a whole lot larger than others.  While the one in the foreground seems to be lying on its side, flapping one wing in the air, Gary says it looks like all the chicks are being fed equally by the adults. 

The adults seem to be calling constantly lately, with or without food. Last year, one adult would call (from atop a nearby telephone pole) when it caught prey, before flying to the nest.   It seemed they were teaching the babies to respond to their calls; associating the calls with food.

I guess the Semi Tropic developers made no mitigations for construction noise with the nesting raptors.  (There is supposed to be a 500' quiet zone for nesting raptors according to the City standard conditions for approval.)  The grading seems to involve non-stop back-up horns, all day long, that can be heard across the 2 Freeway, on Corralitas Drive.    

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