Things started slowly on 72nd Street. One parent was high up on 220 Riverside Boulevard and I saw a parent on 70th Street, east of West End Avenue and then at the bottom of Riverside Drive.  But no fledglings.

Then out of the blue, one of them was on the ledge where the nest is.  I thought, I know both of them have fledged.  Was I wrong?  It didn’t take long to find out the answer.  The fledgling had only made a brief stop on the nest and it made a strong flight across the street.

When I turned the corner to see where it went, both fledglings were on 263 West End Avenue, which is on the NW corner of 72nd Street and West End Avenue.

For over 30 minutes the two hawks explored the terraces and balconies of the East and South facades of the building. 

In all my years trying to study these hawks, this is the first time I’ve seen a fledgling at this nest!

I wasn’t able to find the fledglings from 310 West 72nd Street, but I did see both of the parents on top of 220 Riverside Boulevard.  They were being harassed by two Northern Mockingbirds that have a nest on a penthouse at 71st and West End Avenue.  The rotation of songs sung by one of the Northern Mockingbirds includes an American Kestrel call which confused me to no end until I figured out who was singing it.

I suspect the two fledglings are on top of the roofs of be buildings near the nest.

From my perspective, there still seems to be an eyass that hasn’t fledged yet on 72nd Street, but it isn’t clear if it might have left briefly and then returned.  In any case, it was hidden on Friday afternoon, but appeared after a parent landed on the building’s water tank.

I also heard the fledgling cry from one of the nearby building roofs briefly.  So, I think everyone is accounted for after yesterday’s big adventure.

This has got to be the hardest nest in Manhattan to follow, but it’s been fun to have something to study it this year!

I didn’t witness any of the excitement of the day, but I sure heard about it!

The bird that had been using the roofs of buildings on the two blocks near the nest, learning who to land and explore, decided to go over to 205 West End Drive.  Mid-morning it landed on a car, had troubles landing in a tree and it was “rescued” by folks thinking the bird was going to get into traffic. 

In general, you should only intervene after getting permission for a licensed rehabbed.   Too many birds get “rescued” and then have to be returned to their parents.  When in doubt, call your local Audubon Society or local rehabber before taking any action.  Many birds get hurt by being handled by inexperienced “do gooders”.

Luckily, the Wild Bird Fund, where the bird ended up, returned it to 31o West 72nd Street in the early afternoon, and the parents quickly came to be with the fledgling.  So, with one bird on the nest still, everyone was accounted for.

It looks like the parents are looking to entice the fledglings into the gardens of the Lincoln Tower buildings.  There is lots of green space, tons of food and the area has lots of traffic free lawns.  I’m always surprised by where hawks bring their fledglings.  I would have assumed Riverside Park was the destination for these young hawks.

On Wednesday evening, the eyass remaining on the nest was only being seen briefly and stayed for the most part on the nest on the eastern side of the gutter.  One of the parents was seen on a building at 70th and Riverside Blvd.

Only one eyass remained on the nest today.  From the parents behavior, the other one may have been on the roof of the building.  The parents made some very tight circles over the roof, typical of parents checking on a fledgling.  It will be interesting to see how this develops.