Urban Hawks

May 31, 2018December 22, 2020927 5th Avenue Red-tailed Hawks

Foggy Afternoon At Fifth Avenue

It was a foggy afternoon at the Model Boat Pond. When I arrived the eyasses were sleeping with Octavia, their mother, two buildings down on Fifth Avenue. Soon, Pale Male arrived with food and brought it to the nest. One eyass ate the new prey and the other ate leftovers.

One tried to eat too big a piece. The first time I saw this I worried that the eyass would choke, but it seems to be a common behavior as they learn to tear food and eat on their own. I’ve now seen it dozens of time, and nothing ever goes wrong!

At the end of the afternoon, there was some “jump-flapping”. But the eyasses were very mellow, which makes sense given the weather.

May 31, 2018December 20, 2020Washington Sq. Red-tailed Hawks

Exploring The Ledge

The eyasses are starting to roam out of the nest and onto the window ledge that supports the nest. They were fun to watch today. I was there in the early evening. I watched a food delivery, a feeding (with one eyass feeding itself), and some “jump flapping”.

May 30, 2018December 22, 2020Tompkins Square Red-tailed Hawks

Still Too Little

A quick trip to Tompkins Square Park let me see a feeding, but the eyasses are still too small to see. We’ll have to wait a bit longer to figure out how many there are!

May 29, 2018December 22, 2020Tompkins Square Red-tailed Hawks

Feedings and Blue Jays

When I arrived Amelia was feeding. (It will still be some time before we know how many youngsters we have.)

Christo was near the nest. He then attacked a Blue Jay nest. From there, he flew to a church on Avenue B where he was harassed by a group of Blue Jays for an extended period. You can’t blame the Jays as they were protecting their young. After things calmed down, Christo ate a pigeon and then flew to the nest.

May 29, 2018December 18, 2020Upper East Side Hawks

Kestrel and Eyasses

When I arrived at the 96th Street nest this afternoon, the mother was on a nearby building being harassed by an American Kestrel. She took it in stride.

She had gotten her chest wet, something that is commonly seen with Red-tailed Hawks. It’s a mini bath that doesn’t get the flight feathers wet. So her ragged appearance is nothing to worry about.

The eyasses looked healthy and well fed as usual.

May 28, 2018December 15, 2020Red-tailed Hawk Nest Updates

2018 Manhattan Nest Update 12

Two positive updates…

The Tompkins Square Nest (now with the third female of the season, Amillia) has hatched. The eyasss are too little to count just yet, but we have at least one youngster.
The female at 96th Street is no longer a single parent. It is unclear if she has a new mate or if the old mate was returned from rehab, but local hawk watchers are seeing two adults now.

Update: After posting this, I was sent photos confirming three, not two eyasses at Grant’s Tomb. This had been corrected below.