Buteo jamaicensis

As I drove out of the valley early this morning I saw two of the three juvenile red tailed hawks sitting on a dead branch about twenty or thirty yards from the nest.

A moment later the third hawk, who I was starting to worry about, flew out of a distant branch back to the safety of the home sycamore.

They have gotten so beautiful and matured so quickly. I have not seen their parents for several days, perhaps nature's way of teaching her wild children to quickly fend for their selves.