And just like that, the hawk chicks have fledged and flown.

Last week I stopped, as I always do, to watch and listen. After a few visits in a row to a suddenly empty nest, was rewarded this time with a sighting. (Still not sure what went wrong but the shots from that day were unusable.)

The young hawk, smaller than his parents but admirably steady on his wings, flew by. He circled the quiet nest and landed on the branch above. He looked and waited a moment but no one was there. So he took off, caught a thermal, wafted up, his hawk-ish screech a bit thin but showing great promise.