This year only one Swainson’s Hawk chick sits in the nest at Mesquite Grove Golf Course. The nest started out with two chicks but either fratricide, rain storms (I think I remember we had some rain), or an accidental slip reduced the nest to one. The hawks are being good parents and every mockingbird, scissor-tail, and kingbird are once again voicing their displeasure every time one of the big birds soars in the air. These majestic birds have made their nest in a large mesquite and they’re pretty easy to see.

But across the Base high atop a public address system, another set of parents work hard to raise their young. I watched two Western Kingbirds attend to their nestlings and marveled at the lengths some birds go to find that perfect nest site. Some parents have lofty goals for their kids; drop into the Mid-July Parenting gallery and you’ll see what I mean.