Urban Hawks

December 21, 2013December 26, 2020Eagles, Falcons, Hawks and Osprey, Other Birds

Battery Park

I went down to Battery Park to see if I could find the banded hawk NJ30, which had been seen and photographed by other hawk watchers earlier in the month.

I didn’t find anything at first but after about half an hour, I saw a number of pigeons and gulls fly. It was a hawk alright, but not the Red-tailed Hawk NJ30. Instead it was a Cooper’s Hawk by the Coast Guard building.

Manhattan’s reliable female Wild Turkey was also in her usual spot. (She’s not so wild anymore. I think she’s being feed regularly.)

December 20, 2013December 26, 2020Other Birds

Mute Swans

The Reservoir had a pair of Mute Swans today. It isn’t that unusual for the park to have a swan or two on the Harlem Meer or The Pond in the southeast corner of the park, but this was the first time I remember a pair on the Reservoir. Maybe they’re passing through searching for warmer climates. I’m sure there are lots of frozen lakes further north.

December 8, 2013December 26, 2020Owls

Brooklyn Snowy Owl, 3rd Visit

I was out birding on Jones Beach, but swung by Brooklyn on the way home to get another glimpse of a Snowy Owl. When I arrived a Snowy was on a shipping container, and moved to a sign, and then back to a field. The movement wasn’t because of people bothering the owl, but because a Northern Harrier was about. While I was there it started to snow, so I got some interesting footage.

December 7, 2013December 26, 2020Owls

Brooklyn Snowy Owl, 2nd Visit

I went back to Brooklyn on Saturday to look for the Snowy Owls. (There is actually more than one.) A Snowy Owl was about 35 yards from where I had seen one last weekend in Brooklyn. Nice to get additional looks at it. It flew out of the grass around the same time as last week and into the same general direction.

I would encourage everyone to look at some of the discussions on the New York State Birding listserver. Simple questions about the ethics of watching Snowy Owls and the reason they’re down south has raised more questions than answers. The discussion however is great. There have been some great tips about how to educate other birders watchers and photographers in a constructive way, in addition to some references to some current scientific literature.

December 1, 2013December 26, 2020Owls

Brooklyn Snowy Owl

A number of Snowy Owls are in the New York Area this Thaksgiving weekend. I caught up with one in Brooklyn on Sunday afternoon.

(Care needs to be given to not stress these owls. If you’re not familiar with the etiquette around how to observe owls, please take some time to research how to behave around them before you go looking for them.)

November 24, 2013December 26, 2020927 5th Avenue Red-tailed Hawks

Fifth Avenue Hawks

This weekend was the first time I saw 927 Fifth Avenue nest without the scaffolding that has been up for weeks. Although there is still some scaffolding on the lower floors, it looks like most of the work has been done. The building management did a good job of protecting the nest, even with all of the cleaning work. It’s height and shape matches pictures I took this summer.

Here are pictures of the nest, Pale Male on a building a few blocks north, and the pair on the Beresford Apartments north tower.