Since I watched what must have been the female (sorry, not great at sizes from a distance) stretch & groom for most of Monday, both parents have been very active. The rest of the week they have taken prey both morning & evening to the butcher's branch. At first they ate it in situ. Yesterday the male was only on the perch for about a minute when the female flew up. He left & after another minute or so she flew off in the direction of the nest carrying the prey. This morning she caught her own prey, some species of fledgling by the look of it, and after posing with it for some time, carried it off in the direction of the nest. (My vantage point does not include the nest itself.)
So far the prey has included the last mourning dove seen in my yard this year; something with a red head, most likely a male cardinal; and something with a white throat.
I tore myself away from hawk watching & spring planting to take the dog for an evening walk around the neighbourhood away from hawk nesting territory. The place was alive with bird song! Nothing spectacular; robins, house sparrows, possibly swifts, even a mourning dove, but I'd forgotten there was a chorus.
