Tiger moms? HAH!! We laugh at your silly mammalian mothers.
Flying Tiger moms say: "Keep your distance. srsly. If you know what's good for you. And I think you do."
Great Horned Owl, Mines Road
There are the warm and fuzzy moms in the bird world, most assuredly.
Mama and ten baby mallards.
The warm and fuzzy moms want to steer clear of the Flying Tiger moms. But someone's got to live next to that fierce neighbor. Maybe another mom who's not about to back down either...
Red Tailed Hawk, Mines Road (her nest was about 200' from the owl in the intro)
But hey, it's an arms race of raptorial motherhood. I see you a tree and raise you... solid rock!
Red-tailed Hawk, Del Puerto Canyon Road
Fine, solid rock it is. We surround you....
Redtail nest at top; Mom Great Horned, lower left; young Great Horned lower center/right
... with fuzzy cuteness.
Great Horned Owl nestling in cliff cavity
Oh, big deal. You live in holes in rocks about twenty feet above ground - Aren't you impressive! Let's see you deal with an actual aerie!
Golden Eagle aerie, Yosemite, above Merced River
Okay, I'll grant that you have the rock face and impressive height thing going on. But what's with that whole nest structure? Unless you want to raise wimps, you've got to get them used to sleeping on rocks... candy-ass eagle moms...
Peregrine Falcon aerie, Yosemite, above the Merced River
With that kind of discipline, you can raise kids who can handle anything.
Peregrine Falcon nestling, on aerie below Glacier Point (that bright spot sitting on top of the diagonal rock face)
An added note:
A friend of mine spent the night on her way to the Sierra yesterday. She'll be doing about eight weeks of field work on Black-backed Woodpeckers, a species that specializes in post-fire habitats. While she's up there, she'll share some updates from the field, and even drop by to answer questions as her schedule allows (she just joined DKos so she can respond). Curious about some aspect of the work? Leave a comment, and she can focus on it in one of her updates.