Our hawk family (April 2019)

We've thought of this hawk as Lady Hawk, but it's the smaller of the pair, so is likely the male (?).  For now, we're calling it Lady Hawk. She likes to perch on the elm branch outside our kitchen window.  Papa Tom heard an almost cooing sound and discovered Sir Hawk delivering lunch to her. Sir Hawk only stayed a few seconds, bolting when Papa Tom stepped onto the deck for a photo. I didn't get to see him, but Papa Tom says Sir Hawk is huge and might well carry away an unsuspecting kitty cat!   Or is the hawk we're calling Sir Hawk actually the female?  

The hawk nest is at the very top of an elm in our neighbor's back yard.  This hawk glides between the nest, our elm tree, and the neighbor's sycamore tree.  Hawks are known for their sharp eyesight and hunting skills.

Since the hawks' arrival, the squirrels have vanished from our back yard--voluntarily, we hope.  An adult female hawk is called a "formel," an adult male is called "tercel" (from the German word "terzel," meaning "one-third," because male hawks are about 25 percent smaller than female hawks) and a baby hawk too young to leave the nest is called an eya.  We've not seen the babies fly yet.