The nest in Fort Washington has fledged. I believe there were three fledglings, but I’m not 100% sure. The only nest that I don’t have a report for is the 72nd Street nest.
It looks like 2019 was an especially poor year for Red-tailed Hawks in Manhattan. Let’s hope 2020 does better.
I looked for the Washington Square Park fledgling near where it was last seen on Wednesday. I didn’t find the fledgling but saw an adult circling a building at Greenwich Avenue and Bank Street. The hawk perched on a few buildings before landing on the roof with prey. I jumped out of view and I could not relocate it. The hawk looked similar to the new male, but didn’t have any missing wing feathers. So, I left more confused then when I arrived. Not what I was hoping for! In the cell phone photos, the hawk is by the center pipe in the rear of the roof.
This year is turning out to be a dangerous year for Red-tailed Hawks in Manhattan.
I went up to St. John the Divine this afternoon to see how things were going with the fledglings. One was above St. James and the mother on Angel Gabriel. I photographed them and then made my way up to the Cathedral from Manhattan Avenue. I was surprised to see an Urban Park Ranger car. It turns out that one of the fledglings was on the ground just to the NE of the Cathedral in a driveway. Sergeant Ranger Rob Mastrianni netted the bird, did a brief inspection of the bird and took it off to a rehabber for further inspection. If it checks out OK, it will be returned to the area.
Even though it was raining I had a great time at the Cathedral on Wednesday. One of the eyasses flew from the nest (above St. Peter) to above St. James around 4:30. The mother had been feeding and one of the eyasses just decided to fly 30 feet to the south on the church. I left as it started to rain again but you pick up the rest of the evenings action on the Morningside Hawks blog.
Between rain showers, I visited the Warbling Vireo Nest and tired taking some slow motion video. It didn’t quite work out in the low light but you can see some feedings. The nestlings are much more visible now.
