Central Park has been very quiet this winter.  Birds number are low, and many of our standard winter species are hard to find.  But three species of raptors, are consistently being seen, Red-tailed Hawks, Cooper’s Hawks and Peregrine Falcons.

The park has a number of Cooper’s Hawks, mostly juveniles spending the winter.  On Friday, two were working the Evodia Field feeders.  One of them caught a sparrow.  While eating it, the other tried to steal the food without success.

On my way north, I ran into Pale Male sunning outside the Maintenance bathrooms.  Central Park had no fledglings last year. The pair at 95th Street/CPW lost their young about two weeks after they hatched and the adult female died.  Pale Male and Octavia, who were not seen copulating last year, did not have their eggs hatch.  And the pair on the San Remo, laid eggs without a nest yet again.

So, it will be interesting to see what happens this year.  There definitely are three adult pairs of hawks in the park, with possibly a forth (59th and Fifth Avenue) or fifth pair (north of Mount Sinai).  After Valentine’s Day, we should be seeing lots of copulation and nest building activity.  Let’s hope we have at least one successful pair this year.  Keep an eye out for activity over the next eight weeks.

Further north, the lone Peregrine Falcon that has been on the El Dorado, was there yet again.