I arrived at the nest to find the mother and one of the fledglings on the fire escape at 95th and Lexington just below where the nest was built in 2017. An American Kestrel was harassing them and the mother looked to be protecting the fledgling. The youngest hawk had flown to the Starbucks and another was on the nest’s fire escape.

The mother flew off and everyone made their way to the nest.  The youngest returned to the nest and the one at 95th Street flew to the roof of the nest building in a nice block long flight.  After the mother left, the one on roof joined its siblings.

I can’t wait until one of the fledglings actually perches in a tree!

Thursday Update: I was sent a photo of a fledgling in a 95th Street tree this morning.

This morning before I arrived at the nest, the fledgling was joined by a sibling on the Starbucks fire escape.  By noon both had returned to the nest. The mother fed the youngest eyass this morning, and she did not bring food to the fledgling.  I suspect as a single parent she wants them to stay on the nest a bit longer.

A rehaber inspected the fledgling with the limp this morning and found nothing wrong with the bird.  I believe the visit was unnecessary, but it’s good to have an professional opinion none the less.

This nest is in a dangerous location, so there may be more drama later in the week!

Early this afternoon, one of the 96th Street hawks fledged to a fire escape on the building to the east of the nest above a Starbucks.  The hawk missed the landing and ended up dangling from a single talon upside down.  Not to unusual for a first flight! This all happened before I arrived.

When I arrived the fledgling was doing fine except for a tender foot. It found some sun and took a nap for over an hour.  Some locals went crazy that the hawk was injured enough to require care because they said fledgling hawks don’t nap and one person even tried to flag down a fire truck.  The owner of the apartment put water and raw meat out.  All of this was unnecessary and created needless panic.  The bird was not in any immediate danger and didn’t need to be fed.  These are wild birds and not pets.

Tuesday Update: NYC Audubon and the Urban Park Rangers are aware of the fledgling’s location and status. The Urban Park Rangers (a division of the NYC Parks Department) will be monitoring the fledgling today.

I received photographs, texts and emails this morning showing that one of the fledglings had left the nest.  It had gone down to scaffolding below the nest early in the morning.

I was spending the weekend and was able to get to the nest around 5 p.m.  When I arrived I was surprised to see three eyasses in the nest.  It turns out the fledgling decided it was too soon to leave and using the stairs of the fire escape returned to its two siblings.  I guess this was extended “branching”.

Urban nests continue to surprise me!

The hawks at 96th Street are getting ready to leave.  One is having fun on the fire escape railing and it looks like the other two will be joining in on the fun soon. 

The neighborhood is getting excited about the hawks too.  It looks like there will be lots of eyes and ears on the fledglings.  Good luck young fellows!

The eyasses sure have gotten older. One looks like it’s almost ready to fledge.  I’m really curious about how these birds are going to leave the nest safely.