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”.
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!
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.
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.
Two positive updates…
Update: After posting this, I was sent photos confirming three, not two eyasses at Grant’s Tomb. This had been corrected below.
The hawk watchers of Tompkins Square Park, saw a feeding and an hour long visit by Christo (the father) last night. I went down this afternoon to help confirm the hatch. I saw two feedings, one around 1:15 and one around 3:30. The eyass(es) are too young and small to see from the ground, but it’s clear that the nest has youngsters.
After all of the drama with Dora, Nora and now Amelia it is so nice that the Lower East Side has a nest that has hatched this year.
(It says a lot about the difference between Washington Square and Tompkins Square parks when realize which bands play in which park. Especially when you consider they are only a ten minute walk from each other.)
