Other Red-tailed Hawks Archives - Page 13 of 30

May 19, 2012December 26, 2020Other Red-tailed Hawks

Astoria Park

I took a visit to Queens to check out a nest on the Triborough (RFK) Bridge. It’s been on the bridge for some time, although one year the nest was on the opposite side of the bridge. Like so many nests in New York City, it had a parent die from poisoning.

Astoria is a nice quiet neighborhood full of friendly people. Sometimes I get burnt out answering scores of questions from hawk watchers in Manhattan, and Astoria makes a wonderfully relaxed trip. The nest is near the next to the last stop of the N train, which is a quick trip from where I live in Manhattan.

This year the nest has three eyasses, which seem to be about a month old.

Four Dead Hawks

Within the last few weeks there have been four dead Red-tailed Hawks found on the Upper West Side: three in Central Park, and one in Riverside Park. The hawks were:

A juvenile that was in the North Woods of Central Park
Lima, Pale Male's mate of a year
An older hawk in the SE corner of Central Park
The female of the Boat Basin nest in Riverside Park

While necropsy results are still pending, the likelihood that rodenticides were the cause of death is an urban reality.

As hawks have made a comeback in New York City over the last twenty years, we're seeing the issues hawks face living in the Big Apple.

I know from personal experience that we have lots of allies in this effort, including the Parks Department, the Central Park Conservancy, the Department of Health, NYC Audubon, and others. While we figure out how to turn our anger over these deaths into action, we need to be careful not to attack our allies.

This is an incredibly complex issue. A few hundreds raptors in New York City aren't going to limit the rat populations. Controlling rat infestations utilizing methods that have the least potential for negative impact on wildlife is going to take years of incremental change. We'll need the help of all our allies as we tackle long term issues, such as improving sanitation and reducing poison usage.

It isn't publicized enough, but behind the scenes, there are many people working to protect raptors in the city. So, rather than attacking our friends over these deaths, we should approach the Riverside and Central Park staff, not with the question "Why did you kill our hawks?", but with the questions "How can I help you protect our hawks? And what support do you need from me?"

December 14, 2011December 19, 2020Other Red-tailed Hawks

Madison Square Park

A young hawk has been hanging around Madison Square Park since early October. I’ve heard reports and been sent a few pictures, but today was the first time I saw the youngster in person.

(I only had a point and shoot camera with me, so the pictures aren’t that great.) It’s most likely a migrant from further north and not a hawk from Manhattan, but you never know!

November 5, 2011December 25, 2020Extralimital, Other Red-tailed Hawks

San Francisco

I’m on vacation in San Francisco. My hotel is on Nob Hill. In the mid-afternoon I saw some pigeons in flight out my window and wondered if there was a hawk nearby. It turns out there were two Red-tailed Hawks, an adult and an immature bird.

October 30, 2011December 19, 2020Other Red-tailed Hawks

Young Red-tailed Hawk

There was a young Red-tailed Hawk flying between 100th and 111th Street along Fifth Avenue this afternoon. It was impossible to tell if it was a migrant or a hawk that was born on a nearby nest this spring.

January 14, 2011December 28, 2020927 5th Avenue Red-tailed Hawks, Other Red-tailed Hawks

Red-tailed Hawks in Pale Male’s Territory

Late on Friday, I saw two hawks in the Locust Grove just west of the Great Lawn, an adult peering down on a juvenile on the ground. The juvenile had a squirrel and waited until the adult left to begin eating it.

Later, just before sunset, an adult hawk came down from a Fifth Avenue perch, to harass a juvenile eating a bird on Pilgrim Hill. They both paid no attention to the numerous sledders on the hill.

The adult actually took some of the prey away from the juvenile. I lost track of the juvenile but was able to track the adult as it went from tree to tree before settling on a tree just south of 72nd Street, due south from the Pilgrim statue.

The adult hawk from Pilgrim Hill may be the new mate of Pale Male. Lola hasn’t been seen since mid-December and is unfortunately presumed dead.