TCC/MCNY Red-tailed Hawks

Terence Cardinal Cooke

I spent some time looking at the nest and found an eating spot I hadn’t seen before on Friday. It is on an air conditioner on a high row of windows on the north face of the New York Academy of Medicine at 103rd Street. The male ended up eating a pigeon there, and the female came over to eat the leftovers, while the male sat on the eggs until she finish her meal. The New York Academy of Medicine’s upper windows are visible from the nest at 105th. It’s the perfect place to share food.

Washington Sq. Red-tailed Hawks

Still Brooding

I’m just getting caught up with the video I shot on Friday. I spend an hour down at Washington Square Park in the morning. The female was on the nest and the male was on the very top of 1 Fifth Avenue. (The video is a bit distorted of the nest. I forget that the mist from the Washington Square Park fountain sometimes causes issues photographing the nest.) I was hoping to get some insight into the question about the male being the second or third male, but wasn’t able to get any shot that would give some insight. Maybe on my next visit.

927 5th Avenue Red-tailed Hawks

End Of A 25 Year Run?

On Thursday morning, I checked in on Pale Male and Octavia to confirm that they weren’t nesting this year before I gave my lecture that evening, A Year With Pale Male, to benefit the New York City Audubon’s Science and Conservation Programs.

To all those who attended the lecture, thank you. The benefit generated much needed funding for NYC Audubon and I was also able to share what it’s like to watch and study an individual bird throughout the year. Pale Male is one of the easiest Red-tailed Hawks to study in North America, and he has allowed me to learn so much about his species.

At the lecture, I reported the news that I had been hesitant to report until now, which is that it looks like the incredibly long run of nesting might be over at 927 Fifth Avenue. While Octavia has been seen standing on the nest for long periods each day with Pale Male perched on nearby building, she clearly isn’t sitting on eggs and the nest seems to be in disrepair. Ordinarily, Octavia would have been brooding for at least three weeks at this point in the season.

They could just be late this year, but it is doubtful. For the last two years, Octavia brooded without success. So, it looks like we’re entering a new chapter in the life of Pale Male and Octavia. I look forward to observing this new stage in Pale Male’s life.