On my last visit to Darien, I counted three chicks, but now that they are larger, it’s clear there are four. The nest was very busy with lots of feedings.
There was also an interesting “sponge bath” of grass, that the mother brought up to the nest as well. Plus there was an intruder Osprey who made a half-hearted attempt to steal a fish from the nest.
At least one of the Fifth Avenue fledglings is hunting for itself now. A mouse and a rat were caught on Saturday afternoon. It’s very nice to see at least one of them be so independent, so early in the summer. Most of the action took place around the Kerbs Boathouse, although both hawk fledglings had been on high perches on Fifth Avenue buildings during the afternoon.
The Washington Square Park Fledgling was having lots of fun this evening. I found it on top of 2 Fifth Avenue where it played in the wind realizing that if it put its wings out, it would have lift off. He then went down into the park chasing a group of pigeons and ending up on the Judson Church roof. That’s a great deal of flying.
Later, he made some a few trips around the east side of the park, and even went over to the roofs of Washington Square North.
From the pictures, you can see his primary and secondary feathers that hadn’t grown in when he fledged look good now. The only feathers with issues are two tail feathers. It’s nice to see him looking less scruffy.
After a vacation, I had a chance to hawk watch in Tompkins Square Park this evening. All three fledglings ended up in the same tree with both parents close by and one fledgling even tried to catch a squirrel. Lots of action which was lots of fun.
Despite having a few missing primary and secondary wing feathers, the Washington Square Park fledgling is actually a good flier. It made its way to a number of buildings around the park today, and did a great job of flying to high locations. It did much better than many new fledglings.
There were no hawks on the nest this evening, and reports are that none were seen today by anyone. So, we assume the single eyass has fledged. The parents were spending a lot of time above the Pless building, so the fledgling is most likely on its roof. A group of us are eager to see how it’s coping with the few primary and secondary feathers that are missing. It would be nice to see a few normal flights.
Update: 6/15/16 The fledgling has been perched and flying well in the SW corner of the park today. Reports are nice flights, to perches high on buildings. So, the wings might not look perfect but they certainly work just fine.
