Category: Southern Central Park Red-tailed Hawks

Southern Central Park Red-tailed Hawks

Saturday with the Central Park Fledgling

Saturday with the Central Park fledgling was a quiet afternoon of a bird resting in the hot weather followed by some fun in the early evening.

The fledgling taking it easy for the afternoon watching baseball and softball games.  A real North American.
One of the parents on the CNN sign.
She stayed in two trees for about four hours.
I went up to see if I could find Pale Male and returned to find the fledgling who had a squirrel trapped under a rock.
The squirrel was able to out wait the fledgling, who flew away.
She went south about a block…
… looked for the squirrel again…
and ended up in a tree in the middle of a playground.  She’s the small speck, just to the left of Hampshire House.
The perch may have been in the middle of crowds of people but it was American Robin free.
After a bit, she made a trip west trying first for a squirrel
And then sat in a tree with a view of one of her parents on a Central Park West and 66th Street apartment building.
After awhile, she went after a flock of pigeons, and we lost her.
As I left the park, her parent was still watching over her.
On a high rooftop on Central Park West and 66th Street.
Southern Central Park Red-tailed Hawks

Charlotte and the Fledgling

I arrived around 7:30 to find American Robins and the 888 Seventh Avenue having a minor war.  Junior had taken a Robin nestling, and the adult Robins were going after him.  He moved north and south.  While others looked for the fledgling, I looked for Junior but found Charlotte instead.

Charlotte
Charlotte
Charlotte
The fledgling had been in a tree near the area rock climbers practice south of the ball fields.  The fledgling jumped on the rocks…
… found a puddle and took a few drinks.
The fledgling then settled into a tree for the night on the south edge of the ball fields.
Goodnight!
Southern Central Park Red-tailed Hawks

888 Seventh Avenue Fledgling Growing Up

The girl who seemed so shy when she first entered the park is growing up.  Her range has increased, she’s hunting and has lost the awkwardness she had when she first entered the park.

I caught up to her while she was engaged in stick play.
This helps her with her hunting skills.
She went after a squirrel but missed it.  She’s flying 250-500 feet without problems.
She moved to a tree with a clear view of both the Essex House and CNN signs, at dusk.  I wonder if she wanted to be able to see her parents in the morning.
She did a lot of panting and kept her wings open a lot.  It was over 90 degrees.
Although I left before she went to sleep, what seemed to be her last perch was a very thin tree branch.  I wonder if she roosted here, on a branch too thin for raccoons?
Southern Central Park Red-tailed Hawks

Lunch Near The Ballfield Café

The 888 Seventh Avenue fledgling continues to do well in the park.  A good flyer, she still has problems with branching. 

The father arrived with a nestling for the fledgling’s lunch.  I suspect the nestling was a baby robin, but can’t be sure.
The father and the fledgling traded trees for a few minutes.
Until they ended up on the same tree branch.  The father is on the left and the fledgling on the right.
The fledgling ends up dropping the meal, and eats it on the ground.
It gets eaten slowly.  The fledgling seem in no rush.
The fledgling has been banded.  Despite protests by some bloggers against bands, they do not bother the birds.  They allows scientists to study migration patterns and if this bird is injured give those giving help access to its past medical records.
While the fledgling was on the ground, the father kept watch.
I had to leave, but the fledgling continues to be well looked after by its parents.  It should spend the summer in the park learning to hunt and fly, and leave us in late August or early September.
Southern Central Park Red-tailed Hawks

North of the Ballfields Feeding And The Parents Perches

I got to Central Park in the early evening after visiting Inwood Hill Park.  I had struck out trying finding the hawk family in Inwood, so I was hoping for better luck at the Heckscher Ballfields.

Our well looked after 888 Seventh Avenue fledgling. 
Relaxing north of the Baseball Fields.
One lone American Robin helped me find her.
The mother came and we saw the father fly north.  She left and returned with a pigeon.  It was hard to tell who actually caught the prey.
The mother left the food on branch, called for the youngster to come for dinner and left.
The parent then flew around the Time Warner Building in Columbus Circle. It was windy, and she gained speed and height quickly.
The mirrored building seems to fascinate this pair.  New York City Audubon has been working to minimize bird deaths from building collisions.  This spring they published an excellent guide for building owners and architects, Bird-Safe Building Guidelines, as part of their Project Safe Flightinitiative.
Here the mother rests on the new Zeckendorf building.
The fledgling’s dinner for tonight was a pigeon.
The fledgling’s dinner for tonight was a pigeon.
The parents are both efficient eaters, but this fledgling is still learning.
She was eating next to a Baseball dugout, and the team playing in Red uniforms were named the Hawks!
The mother on the roof of the new Zeckendorf buildings at 62nd and Central Park West.  This building didn’t exist two years ago, so we’re learning what’s changed this year.
Both parents ended up on near the roof of the N.Y.A.C. (New York Athletic Club).  This is the first time, I’ve seen them perching there.
The mother on the railing.

What a nice way to start the summer, with fledglings playing all over New York City.