Highbridge Park Red-tailed Hawks Archives - Page 3 of 3

May 6, 2007December 22, 2020Highbridge Park Red-tailed Hawks

Highbridge Nest Update

Views of the Highbridge nest are disappearing as the trees leaf out. I almost slid down the steep hill near the nest taking these obscured shots.

Both parents were off the nest as I took these pictures. These may have to be my last pictures of the Highbridge nest this year.

April 28, 2007December 22, 2020Highbridge Park Red-tailed Hawks

Three Chicks in Highbridge Nest

The leaves are coming out and it’s becoming harder to find a spot to photograph the Highbridge nest. It might become impossible in a few weeks.

The mother (just peaking out on the left), and the three eyasses. I had only seen two tiny eyasses last week, so the third was a nice surprise.

The father arrives. He’s in the middle. (The leaf cover would blow and block the view, creating the soft blur.)

The feeding over, the father let the mother have a break and let the eyasses enjoy the sun.

I went up to Inwood Hill Park, in addition to Highbridge yesterday. Although the female was sitting much higher on the nest, I didn’t see any baby hawks. Neither did Robert B. Schmunk who was up there at the same time.

On Saturday evening, I saw that Alice Danna had also been up to Inwood Hill Park (but earlier in the day), and had seen two eyasses with one of the rangers (via Donna Browne’s Palemaleirregulars blog.)

So, I gave it a second try on Sunday and was able to confirm Alice’s report. I didn’t see two eyasses, but the mother’s behavior would make me believe that there was more than the one eyas.

This makes the two “old school” tree nests in Manhattan a success, while we don’t yet know the fate of the three “new school” building nests, 5th Avenue, St. John the Divine and 888 7th Avenue. So the current score is Old School 2 – New School ?.

Below are pictures of the Inwood Hill Park female and her eyas(ses?) There would be no sign of an eyas and then a head would pop up for a few seconds. It was impossible to tell if it was the same eyas or multiple eyasses.

April 21, 2007December 22, 2020Highbridge Park Red-tailed Hawks

Manhattan Red-tailed Hawk Babies

I’m happy to report that the Highbridge Red-tailed Hawk nest has at least two eyasses.

The second eyass is visible on the right.

In playing back multiple frames, it was possible to see that there were two independent chicks and not just one bird.

March 30, 2007December 21, 2020Highbridge Park Red-tailed Hawks

Highbridge Park – Fifth Manhattan Nest!

I received two great emails. The first was a note from James O’Brien that he ran into someone who can see the 888 Seventh Avenue nest. This person said Charlotte was sitting on eggs. It might turn out that the nest isn’t behind the vents after all. This makes 888 the fourth confirmed nest in Manhattan.

The second note was from Glenn Alvarez, who wrote that Highbridge Park has an active Red-tailed Hawk nest. This is the fifth confirmed Manhattan nest for the season!

James O’Brien had seen the nest this winter, from the lower level of Highbridge Park. Glenn’s email confirmed the nest was active and gave us the hints to find it from Amsterdam Avenue. Like the Highbridge nest, it may become impossible to find once the trees get leaves.

Highbridge Park is located along the Harlem River on Manhattan’s eastern northern tip. It is a long, thin park of about 120 acres. For information about the park, see the Park’s Department website.

I went up after work to take some photographs of the nest. I only saw one Red-tail, who I assumed was the female since it was sitting nest for over 90 minutes. I didn’t see its mate.