100th and Third Avenue Has Hatched
The 100th Street and 3rd Avenue nest has hatched. I saw a feeding Tuesday afternoon. The eyasses are too small to count just yet.
Three Eyasses at 350 CPW
In the early stages of watching a nest, the eyasses are too small to see, so you have to wait until they get a bit bigger to count them. Today, I was excited to see that the nest had three eyasses. During the feeding, for the most part it looked like two eyasses, but at one point all three heads were visible. Congratulations to the new parents.
St. John the Divine
The St. John the Divine nest has most likely hatched given the behavior of the adults this evening. The female was frequently up off the nest, was higher off the nest then she had been when I’ve seen her brooding earlier this season, and there was lots of fresh greenery on the nest. However, I’d like to see a feeding to be 100% sure. We’ll know more in a few days.
350 CPW Baby Pictures
During a feeding this afternoon, I got to see the first glimpse of an eyass (baby hawk) on the 350 Central Park West nest. It was only for about a second, but it was great to see. Red-tailed Hawks usually have clutches of two or three, so I suspect more heads will be seen in the days to come.
350 CPW Calm
I spent less than an hour watching the 350 Central Park West nest on Friday.
It was a great birding day for the park, so hawks took a backseat. I saw 53 species. It helped that ended the day birding with Nadir Souirgi’s New York City Audubon Birding Tour of the North Woods, which leaves from 103rd and Central Park West, at 5:30 p.m. Mondays/Wednesdays/Fridays during migration. It’s free and Nadir is an excellent birder and walk leader. Details are on the New York City Audubon, www.nycaudubon.org website.
While I was at the nest not much happened. The female stood up with her lower chest near the eyasses for most of the time. This is another sign that all of the eggs have hatched and brooding is over.
Another 350 CPW Feeding
After a great day of watching migrating birds in Central Park, including 17 warbler species, I made my way up to 350 Central Park West. The mother was in the middle of a feeding when I arrived. She then left the nest unattended a few times and the male made a visit. She returned and they both stared into the nest together. Given the behavior I saw today, I suspect that all the eggs have hatched.
When I was watching earlier in the week, she seemed intent to feed as quickly as possible and then get back down on the nest, as though at least one egg hadn’t hatched (they hatch a few days apart) and incubation was still needed. (This is only a guess. An alternative reason could be, that with today’s warm weather rather than the colder weather we had early in the week, she felt comfortable leaving the nest.)
The newly hatched hawks still need their parents to help stay warm. It will be another 10-14 days before they can regulate their own temperature enough to be left alone for an extended period.
The eyasses (newly hatched hawks) are too small to see from the street just yet. This neighborhood is full of school children and they should be able to enjoy watching the eyasses grow up this year. The young hawks be on the nest for about 45 days and then move to Central Park by late June, staying the summer before leaving home.
