Two red-tailed hawk eggs hatch atop Clovis water tower

A Clovis water tower has become one of the city’s most unexpected neighborhood watch sites: two red-tailed hawk eggs have hatched atop the Old Town Clovis structure, and the mother bird is now shielding her newborns as the nest continues to grow.

Clovis Police Department shared the update on Thursday, April 16, after the pair of hawks, first seen on video on March 20, returned to the tower to nest again this season. Four eggs were visible on camera, and two of them had already hatched by Thursday, giving families and bird watchers in Fresno County a close look at a nest that has come back to the same spot for several years.

What makes the scene stand out is not just the location, but the size of the nest. Red-tailed hawks usually lay two to three eggs, though clutches of two to five can occur, so four eggs is on the larger side of the typical range. The chicks are also arriving on a familiar timeline: red-tailed hawks generally incubate their eggs for about 28 to 35 days, and the young usually fledge in about 40 to 45 days. That means the next several weeks should bring more movement, more feeding, and eventually the first clumsy flights.

The tower’s camera has turned the nest into a public wildlife window, letting residents follow the hawks without getting close to the birds or the structure. That matters because raptors, including hawks, are protected under California law, and nests with eggs or chicks are protected under the federal Migratory Bird Treaty Act. Disturbing the nest or damaging it can carry legal consequences, which makes remote viewing the safest way to keep up with the hatchlings.

For Clovis, the hawks have become a small but unusually shared community story in a county news cycle often dominated by crime, court, and construction. The appeal is simple: baby hawks on a city water tower, in plain sight, in Old Town Clovis. It is the kind of local moment that can pull in parents, kids, and longtime bird lovers alike, while giving the city a rare chance to be known for something quieter than the usual headlines.