The late afternoon started slow, with one fledgling on the nest and one in a Cherry tree at the water’s edge.  The one in the Cherry tree had been there for three hours, and the fledgling in the nest was making a liar out of me.  (I had told everyone who asked about what would happen after the hawks left the nest, that fledglings don’t normally go back to the nest.)

Once it started to cool down, the action started with both youngsters flying from tree to tree.  As it got close to sunset, one played on the ground, while its sibling begged for food.  Eventually the father arrived with a rodent, the mother prepared it, and one of the fledglings ate it. The feeding took place on a tree, nicknamed the picnic table, because it has a good level surface to eat on.

The fledgling did eat some of rodent before dropping it on the ground.  The mother went down to look for it but came back empty handed.  It was already fairly dark.  Both parents stood guard while the feeding was taking place.

After the aborted feeding, each hawk then ended up going to the parents roosting trees, with one of the fledglings continuing to cry for food as darkness fell.  (For those worried about the crying, this is normal at this stage.  Even recently fed fledglings love to cry for more.)