Feeding Time
On the way home I spent half hour at Pale Male’s nest. Pale Male brought some food and Octavia fed the eyasses.
Riverside/West End Update
The last time I visited the West End Avenue/Riverside Park nest, it looked like there had been a hatch. Today, it was clear based on a little head that kept showing up. We’ll figure out how many in a week or two.
CCNY Shepard Hall
On Shepard Hall at CCNY’s northern campus is a nest that frustrates many hawk watchers. It’s hard to photograph and very unpredictable. This year it has two of the oldest eyasses in the city. Their parents must have started early.
Riverside Church
I took a look at Riverside Church to see if the young Peregrine Falcons were visible. There was no sign of them. I was probably a week or two early, but did get to see one of the parents visit the scrape and then leave.
Rewarding Sheep Meadow Views
For the first time this season, I left the Sheep Meadow nest feeling like I had gotten a great view of the eyasses, rather than fleeing glances.
The only sour note of the day was a gentleman who wanted to fly a small helicopter next to the nest. This is the eight time within the last year, I’ve seen folks with model helicopters in the park. The Park Regulations clearly ban them, (§1-05 Regulated Uses, r, 2) “No person shall engage in any toy or model aviation, kite-flying, model boating or model automobiling except at such times and at such places designated or maintained therefor.”, with Manhattan having no approved model aviation areas.
Now that small drones and helicopters with remote cameras are under $400, it would be good to see these restrictions made clearer by the Parks Department. Beyond the obvious safety concerns for humans and the hawks, these new drones can be very noisy and are not appropriate for use in quiet zones like the Sheep Meadow. I would encourage anyone who likes to write letters, to send a note to the Parks Commissioner and request that restriction on model aviation be made more prominent in the Parks Department FAQs, provide refresher training to all Park Enforcement Patrol officers and ask the Central Park Conservancy to improve the signage at the Sheep Meadow, Great Lawn and North Meadow so as to remind park patrons of the restrictions.
Home Alone
On Friday, I spend a some time looking at the Fifth Avenue nest. The eyasses are old enough that the parents are comfortable leaving them alone for long periods. Tonight, it was over an hour.
