Storms Destroy the Nest

We were very excited to see whether our Swainson's hawks would actually return yet again to the same nest.  We didn't know whether they would be bothered by having the camera a few feet away.  We had tried to camouflage it with pine needles and branches when we first put it up, but the first few storms of January washed all our hard work away, and we noticed on the video camera that the position of the nest was changing.  It seemed to be slipping off the branches and in danger of falling down.  Then at the end of January there was a pretty big storm, that caused numerous power outages, downed trees, and blew the the rest of the nest completely away.  We were very disappointed, and didn't know if the hawks would return, now that there was no home to return to.  But Mont talked to Ron Walker, a local expert on Swainson's hawks, who said that having their nests blow down is a common occurrence.  Swainson's hawks can rebuild a nest in a single day, and often do.  Ron suggested anchoring a platform where the nest used to be that would give them some support, and a more secure place to rebuild the nest that wouldn't blow down in a high wind.