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!
Sunday afternoon turned out to be rain-free, despite forecasts that called for a wash out. So I ended up being able to spend about five hours with the fledglings. The birds provided a nice experience.
Once fledgling was mellow the whole afternoon spending most of the afternoon nodding off in a tree. The other begged for food once Pale Male was in sight, and continued to beg even after being fed. What a cry baby!
While eating this youngster had an encounter with a squirrel who ended up either trying to jump over the hawk or jump at the hawk. It was hard to tell. But it was fun to watch. The second video has the encounter in slow motion.
Sadly, there were a few photographers who got a little out of control during the afternoon. There are photographers who naturally respect nature and unfortunately there are those who will do anything to get a shot without any regard for a bird’s welfare.
It doesn’t make sense to be overly controlling in a public park, so I try to be relaxed. But it really bothers me when a bird has to stop eating to keep track of the individuals who have gotten too close. Today, that happened twice. I politely asked people to step back and allow the bird to eat. Thankfully, I got a positive response from all but two photographers.
One photographer has been stalking the fledglings for the last month. He has developed a reputation for trying to get as close as possible. This means four or five feet! This may acclimate the hawk to humans which could have bad results later in life. Buy a telephoto lens for god sakes!
The other individual had “mid-life crisis photographer syndrome”. These are men who spend their lives discussing and collecting camera equipment rather than taking photographs. He took a few photographs and bothered the hawk by being too close, and then spent two hours loudly talking about camera equipment with his friends.
I’m tempted to get a sticker for my 500mm lens that says “Real men photographers don’t talk about their equipment. They just shoot.”
I got a text that Bobby was on the Con Ed building, so I finished up at work and walked over to Union Square. Bobby had left, but I thought I saw another hawk on the north of the tower. In error, I saw my sighting was a door, once someone lent me binoculars. But luckily, I found Pip about 10 feet from my false sighting.
I has a business meeting early downtown, so I didn’t have my camera at work. I took a roundtrip cab ride home and back to get my equipment. When I returned to the park, it was after 8 p.m. Pip was eating a rodent and Bobby was on top of a nearby water tank. They exchanged places and eventually both ended up going west on 16th Street. This is the second time this has happened at dusk, so they must be roosting nearby.
It was a wonderfully quiet evening watching the two fledglings. Both had been feed before I arrived and were very mellow.
It looks as though Pale Male and Lima are encouraging their offspring to begin hunting on their own. Reports are the fledgling’s endless begging for food was being ignored by their parents today. As I was leaving the park, one flew over to the Ramble. A possible sign the youngster was taking the hint!
