Hip Hop at Sheep Meadow
Summerstage had a hip hop concert blaring music while this Sheep Meadow hawk did some squirrel hunting. It came up empty, but reports are a fledgling caught two pigeons earlier in the day in the same area.
Fifth Avenue Mystery
I got to see one of the fledglings for over two hours around the Obelisk (sometimes referred to Cleopatra’s Needle), west of the Met. This was fun since there were lots of good looks at the bird.
However, the mystery of the day was a large adult Red-tailed Hawk, who wasn’t Pale Male or Ocativa, who showed up nearby. This coupled with the rescue of a young hawk around the tennis courts at 96th Street last week had hawk watchers wondering.
Could the young hawk could have been from an unknown nest of the pair that tired to nest along CPW these last two years? And could the adult hawk we saw be the parent of this youngster, investigating the cries from Pale Male and Ocatavia’s children, in case they were the parent’s missing fledgling?
I don’t think we’ll ever know but it makes a great story!
Update: It looks like the youngster that was picked up at the tennis courts is most likely one of the Cathedral fledglings, which makes sense given their exposure to Frounce. So, this extra adult’s appearance may have not explanation.
Tompkins Square on Friday
I made a visit to Tompkins Square Park on Friday. I got to see four Red-tailed Hawks flying high above the park and one fledgling on the nest, on the ground and in trees.
Late July and early August is a tough time for hawk watchers. The birds that tended to stay close to the nest are now covering a wider area and are harder to find.
After Dinner
I had dinner down at The Cardinal on 4th Street tonight and made a quick trip to Tompkins Square Park. I found one of the fledglings down on 8th Street and an adult on the flag pole. It was nice to be back with New York City hawks.
Turkey Vulture Chick
I’m still out at the Grand Canyon and found this young Turkey Vulture on a cliff face.
It’s so great to be on vacation and see the breeding locations of birds you see migrating through New York City in the spring and the fall. I’ve never seen a young Turkey Vulture before! Cute, but still with a face only a mother could love!
South Rim, Grand Canyon
I had the good fortune to see these five California Condors arrive outside my hotel room during the World Cup Final. Five Condors is 7% of the wild AZ/UT population! Guess what took priority! The tag numbers were 23, 30, J1, J4, L3.
| Tag# | SB# | Age in 2014 | Sex | Bred At: | Release/ Fledge Year |
| 23 | 123 | 19 | M | LAZ | 1997 |
| 30 | 530 | 5 | M | LAZ | 2011 |
| J1 | 521 | 5 | F | WCBP | 2011 |
| J4 | 541 | 5 | F | WCBP | 2011 |
| L3 | 593 | 3 | F | Portland | 2012 |
