With Daylight Saving Time, it’s easier to have time after work to watch the nest. Bobby made two brief visits while I was at Washington Square one around 5:15 and one just before he went to roost.
You can see the updated New York Times web camera in many of my shots from today.
The Washington Square hawks seem to have their nesting rhythm down now. Bobby checking in every few hours and seeing if Rosie needs a break. I arrived late in the afternoon. Rosie didn’t leave the nest but Bobby came in to see if she wanted a break. He then went off to hunt in the western area of the park.
I took advantage of the warm weather to visit Inwood Hill Park at the northern tip of Manhattan. Both Red-tailed Hawks visited the nest, but they don’t appear to have started nesting just yet. They copulated while I was there.
A Great Horned Owl was roosting near the Red-tailed Hawk nest. It will be interesting to see how these birds manage to coexist.
When I arrived Rosie had already been relieved of her egg sitting duties by Bobby and had just finished lunch. She returned and swapped with Bobby. After about an hour and a half, Bobby returned to the nest and gave Rosie another break, this time so she could preen which she did on Two Fifth Avenue. Then Rosie returned and Bobby left. He then perched on a building on the west side of the park.
Within the last few weeks there have been four dead Red-tailed Hawks found on the Upper West Side: three in Central Park, and one in Riverside Park. The hawks were:
While necropsy results are still pending, the likelihood that rodenticides were the cause of death is an urban reality.
As hawks have made a comeback in New York City over the last twenty years, we're seeing the issues hawks face living in the Big Apple.
I know from personal experience that we have lots of allies in this effort, including the Parks Department, the Central Park Conservancy, the Department of Health, NYC Audubon, and others. While we figure out how to turn our anger over these deaths into action, we need to be careful not to attack our allies.
This is an incredibly complex issue. A few hundreds raptors in New York City aren't going to limit the rat populations. Controlling rat infestations utilizing methods that have the least potential for negative impact on wildlife is going to take years of incremental change. We'll need the help of all our allies as we tackle long term issues, such as improving sanitation and reducing poison usage.
It isn't publicized enough, but behind the scenes, there are many people working to protect raptors in the city. So, rather than attacking our friends over these deaths, we should approach the Riverside and Central Park staff, not with the question "Why did you kill our hawks?", but with the questions "How can I help you protect our hawks? And what support do you need from me?"
Tonight, I got to see my first exchange (pair swapping egg sitting duties) of the 2012 season at Washington Square. It was great to see Bobby sitting on the eggs.
During Rosie’s break, she few around the park, looked to be hunting and found what looked like leftovers.
