False Alarm! Everything is okay at the hawk's nest!

Over the past few months, I've been observing a hawk's nest in the parking lot of my apartment complex.  Two red-shouldered hawks decided to become my neighbors and start a family.  I couldn't have been happier.  I was jealous, because I was always hearing about other people having similar nests in their yards.  This included my girlfriend.  Finally I had my OWN hawks living nearby.  

For about two or three months I had noticed the adults building the nest, and bringing food back to it.  I had not seen any chicks.  For the last week or so, I hadn't seen either of the adults.  I was afraid that they had left for some reason.  This morning I saw broken egg shell fragments.  It seemed like some predator had destroyed the eggs, and the parents had abandoned the nest.  I was really starting to become depressed over the whole thing.  

While I was inside doing housework an hour later, I heard the familiar call of one of the adults.  They were still here!  I saw who I believe is the female.  She had a mouse, and she was flying towards the nest.  After dropping of breakfast, she went back out in search of more.  This is when I noticed the recent addition to the family!

I saw two little downy faces through my binoculars looking back at me.  It was incredible!  I had finally seen the chicks that I had been waiting for over the past few months.  In an hour, I had gone from being hopeless and bewildered, to being totally delighted!  

As a somewhat new bird watcher, this is a very exciting experience for me.  I check the nest site almost every day.  I will definitely write more about this in the next few weeks.