I got to see one of the Washington Square fledglings and both parents this evening. The fledglings are starting to venture outside of the park, so I think the area hawk watchers are going to need to work harder to find them in the upcoming weeks.
I only had a brief visit to Central Park today. I only found one fledgling, and briefly one of the parents.
Tonight the two fledglings were calm after the thunderstorms. One was in a tree on the east side of the park, and the other on a building on the SW corner of the park. One of the parents arrived with a Rock Pigeon and the juvenile in the park joined the mother and took the pigeon from her.
Other than this not much happened.
This afternoon, I was fortunate to see Pale Male deliver a Rock Pigeon to one of the fledglings, and then have him return moments later with a rodent, which he ate himself. A two for one special!
(If you’re squeamish about watching raptors eat prey, you shouldn’t watch the video or continue reading this post.)
Saturday at Fifth Avenue had some excitement. The third fledgling, gently fell to the canopy of entrance to 927 Fifth Avenue after being swept away by the wind from a high ledge.
This fledgling has been having issues getting adjusted to life off the nest. It spent hours on a sixth floor ledge on Friday concerning the staff of 927 and today the mother spent about two hours trying to lure it away from a railing and into the park with food.
The fledgling stayed on the canopy after falling and looked healthy. It ran up and down the length of the canopy for at least twenty minutes. Eventually it tried to jump onto a lamp, then a tree and ended up on the ground. It wasn’t in any immediate danger, except for being close to Fifth Avenue traffic.
Lincoln Karim, the photographer behind palemale.com, choose to pick up the fledgling and take it up to a high terrace on a building two doors south.
Protocols for handling these situations vary. Many rehabbers believe a grounded fledgling should have a few days in captivity to let it get established before being returned to the city. Giving the grounded hawk to a rehabber would also ensure the hawk wasn’t dehydrated due the previous heat wave.
Also, the high terrace may not have been the best relocation choice. Since the mother was trying to get the flegling into the park, it might have been safer to return it to a low tree in Central Park, rather than the high building perch.
We’ll know in a few days if Mr. Karim made the right choice.
(Hawk watchers had seen all three fledglings in the morning. I only got to see the third fledgling, and late in the day one of the earlier fledglings.)
I arrived in the park to find the two fledglings playing around a plastic bag. I discovered it had trapped water and the young hawks were using it too cool off.
The hawks and their mother perched in trees for a long time in the hot weather as well. A thunderstorm came through and I exited the park.
The fledglings continue to delight park visitors. If you haven’t seen the fledglings in a while, try to make a visit this weekend. They’re at a delightful, playful age.
