Southern Central Park Red-tailed Hawks Archives - Page 15 of 25

February 28, 2010December 24, 2020927 5th Avenue Red-tailed Hawks, Southern Central Park Red-tailed Hawks

Two Hawk Mothers

Lola and Charlotte are the nicknames given two female hawks around Central Park who have been mothers in the past. Both hawks were getting ready for the next nesting season on Sunday

Lola, the lighter of the two hawks, was busy soaring around the Fifth Avenue nest and working on tidying it up. She will most likely lay eggs mid-March.

Charlotte, who nests at 888 Seventh Avenue, was seen eating a pigeon and chasing of a juvenile hawk up at the Sheep Meadow. She generally lays eggs a few weeks after Lola.

Both females have had nesting issues these last few years. May they both have a successful year in 2010.

From north to south, we have the following confirmed nesting sites in Manhattan this year: Inwood Hill Park, Highbridge Park (back to the old location, which should be safer than last year’s location), Lower Riverside Park (also in a new and safer location), Fifth Avenue and 888 Seventh Avenue. I visited all of them this weekend. They all seem to be in good shape, with chicks expected within the next few weeks.

Some nests have changed from last year.

There is no sign of a nest below 14th Street, although there have been reports of hawks downtown all winter, including Tompkins Square Park, the World Trade Center construction site, the Court Houses around Center Street, Seward Park, Washington Square Park and the Greenway.

Last year’s nest on Houston Street is not being used again this year. The male from last year’s nest died of Fronce and while hawks have been seen on the Lower East Side all winter, no signs of a new nest has been found.

The St. John the Divine’s pair have both been seen recently but further uptown. Construction continues on the church and they may have moved but no one has found a new nest location. This one is a real mystery.

The Shepard Hall, City College nest looks bigger according to reports, but nest looks unoccupied. The hawks may be nesting somewhere nearby.

Here are pictures of four nests from this weekend:

Inwood Hill Park

Highbridge Park

Lower Riverside Drive

Fifth Avenue

March 14, 2009December 25, 2020927 5th Avenue Red-tailed Hawks, Eagles, Falcons, Hawks and Osprey, Highbridge Park Red-tailed Hawks, Inwood Hill Park Red-tailed Hawks, Other Red-tailed Hawks, Riverside Park Red-tailed Hawks, Southern Central Park Red-tailed Hawks, Tompkins Square Red-tailed Hawks

Riverside and Broadway

I spent the early afternoon looking at the Riverside Red-tailed Hawk pair on Saturday. There nest is just off the Hudson River near 8st Street and looks great. Last year they laid eggs around mid-March, so the female should start sitting on the nest soon.

Other nests in Manhattan are doing well. Inwood Hill Park, Highbridge Park, St. John the Divine and 5th Avenue nests are doing fine. The Highbridge nest is back to its old spot.

The Central Park South pair is still there but I don’t have any details about their nest. The Houston female lost her mate last year, and may be nesting on the ConEd plant around 14th Street. The pair that was around the City College campus remains a mystery.

Sightings of hawks this winter around the north end of Riverside Park and around the Court House buildings on Center Street make these locations possibilities for new nests this year.

When leaving Riverside Park, check out the American Kestrels that have a scrape at 80th and Broadway. One of them is usually on the building south of Zabar’s or on the church at 79th and Broadway.

November 16, 2008December 24, 2020Other Red-tailed Hawks, Southern Central Park Red-tailed Hawks

Young vs. Established

The young hawk I had seen yesterday was in the same general area today. I first saw it around the playgrounds north of Tavern on the Green, and then on a C.P.W. building around 68th Street. Then it took off towards the Heckscher Ball Fields. When I caught up with the hawk, it had just finished up eating and was cleaning its beak.

Then I spotted Charlotte, the female hawk from Central Park South, on one of the Ball Fields. She took off towards the young hawk’s tree with some prey.

The young hawk left, but ended up moving to a number of trees around the Ball Fields as Charlotte ate. I could not figure out all of the dynamics, but something was surely going on between the two of them.

February 16, 2008December 28, 2020Southern Central Park Red-tailed Hawks, St. John/Columbia Red-tailed Hawks

St. John’s, Riverside and 888 Seventh Avenue Updates

The Cathedral of St. John as started a waterproofing project and put up scaffolding all around the nest. While the work will be away from the nest, it is close by. The timing of this project couldn’t be worse, with egg laying in mid-March and hatching in April. It will be interesting to watch this situation develop. I’m afraid that the hawks might end up attaching workers if they get too close to an active nest later in the Spring.

James O’Brien has more photographs of the St. John’s scaffolding, as well as news of similar repairs on Riverside Church on his blog.

I’ve also gotten news of the 888 Seventh Avenue nest from Brett Odom, who has a view of the nest from his office.

“I just wanted to let you know that while I have not witnessed any copulation activities between Junior and Charlotte. I can confirm that they have greatly increased their visits to the 888 7th Ave. nest site. Until the last several days I could go weeks between sightings, but recently I have seen them visit the nest several times a day.”

September 10, 2007December 23, 2020Southern Central Park Red-tailed Hawks

The Whole Family

On Monday evening, the 888 Seventh Avenue family was located around the Mall (a long walkway with American Elms and statues of famous writers) in Central Park. The juvenile was begging for food, but you could tell her parents knew she was already doing just fine hunting on her own.