One of the Fifth Avenue fledglings spent part of the evening on the Metropolitan Museum of Art. It started on the south side, when to the west side, played in the plants on the roof (near an electrical code violation of an exposed, outdoor AC box). It briefly tried to catch a squirrel in a tree before flying south.
What a change a few weeks makes. The once sickly fledgling is now exploring and made its way from a tree near in the Maintenance Field to the Delacorte Theater this afternoon. While only a few blocks, it is a very different area from where it has been hanging out. The theater is near the Locust Grove, a popular hunting spot of the parents.
The fledgling’s mother was on top of the Beresford Apartments, so the fledgling may just have wanted to be closer to her. In any case, it was nice to see the fledgling in new territory.
The Fifth Avenue fledgling who had been sickly looking for over a week, looked great today. Like its sibling, it has taken to roaming over a much wider range of the park, keeping hawk watchers running around after it.
While I was watching, the fledgling went from 76th and Fifth Avenue to somewhere south of Turtle Pond. Gone are the days, the two fledglings were easy to locate!
The fall bird migration has started so I walked around the Ramble and Turtle Pond today. By going out of my normal route, I was rewarded by finding both Fifth Avenue parents on the SE tower of the Beresford Apartments.
They must realize their offspring are growing up, since they seemed comfortable being on the west side, while the “kids” were on the east side of the park.
After a walk through the Ramble, and seeing a few early warblers, I found both youngsters. One twenty stories high on Fifth Avenue, and the another hunting nearby. The one hunting caught a small rodent.
Tonight, I was the only hawk watcher on Cedar Hill. It was a joy to have the hawks to myself! The lighter chested hawk eat a pigeon delivered by a parent. It dropped part of the meal, so it finished the meal in the grass.
If you look at the video, you’ll see a slightly drooping left wing. It wraps under the tail feathers rather than tucking above them when the bird is at rest.
For about a week the lighter chested of the two fledglings has been sleeping during the day and has had one eyelid closed often (which in the case of a Red-Tail actually moves up, not down). It was also reported to have skipped a few meals.
I hadn’t had a chance to get by the nest until today and was encouraged by what I saw. While the hawk still often had one eyed closed, it seemed energetic and ate a rat brought by its mother.
The Urban Park Rangers and the wildlife rehabilitators, the Horvaths know about the situation with the fledgling. The have been getting reports daily from hawk watchers and are evaluating if action needs to be taken. At this point since the bird is recovering and is not grounded, there isn’t much action that can be taken.
Park regulations prevent unauthorized individuals from interfering with wildlife. An irresponsible blogger suggested that if the fledgling was on the ground, hawk watchers might want to take matters into their own hands and catch it! Please, please leave this work to those licensed by the state!
