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Members of the BW community are enjoying a live lesson in ornithology right outside their office and classroom windows.
For the second year, a majestic pair of red-shouldered hawks has come to nest high in Baldwin Wallace University's iconic Marting Hall, home to the Humanities and, now, two adorable, downy baby hawks.
Conservatory of Music librarian Paul Cary is among those who have been documenting the hawk family activity this spring, catching the raptors in flight, tending to a brood of two fuzzy babies and perched on the ledges outside Marting windows.
Hannah Budic in the Department of Religion sometimes looks up to find one of the adult hawks staring into her office window.
According to the Ohio Department of Natural Resources (ODNR), red-shouldered hawks "are extremely beneficial" and protected by state and federal laws.
ODNR says the young nestlings in the brood are expected to "fledge" or leave the nest 39-45 days after hatching and remain nearby to be fed by their parents for another two to four weeks.
Cary and his wife can attest to the fact that the mother bird can be quite protective. "We were watching from about 75 feet away when she jumped up on the edge of the nest, looked at us and dove. Just missed our heads by about three feet as we ducked," he recalls.
Since hawks often reuse nests from past years, these beautiful birds could become as common a sight as the graduation caps and flowering beech trees that mark springtime on the BW campus.
