Urban Hawks

I was at work with the eyass fledged just before noon, but reports are she had a wonderful long flight to another N.Y.U. building. 

I ended up seeing her later in the day.  She’s ended up in a safe place, and I would suspect she will take her time getting to the park.

Her exact location was posted in some blog posts, and I would recommend that individuals and the media be a little vague in reporting her location from now one.  Now that she’s in public places, she is at risk from people who might accidentally harass her or worse.

At other New York City nests, many hawks watchers privately share fledgling locations with people they know and are careful not to post specifics in public forums, chat rooms, blogs or websites.  It’s a good practice and one I hope will be followed in Washington Square.

The only child at Washington Square fledged just before Noon today.  Andy Newman and Emily S. Rueb have a nice post about the fledge on the New York Times City Room blog.

Good luck kid!

I arrived just as a rainstorm broke loose.  The eyass was flapping like crazy.  The most excited I’ve seen.  Unfortunately, my equipment was in my bag staying dry.

After the storm the eyass just relaxed until nightfall.  The only excitement was a set of attacks on one of the parents by an American Kestrel.  No harm done but the Kestrel must have made thirty passes at the parent.

The eyass at Washington Square jaunts across the ledge seemed to be more like flights than jumps today.  It was quieter than yesterday evening.  The parents were only seen late in the evening, just before dark.

Not much else to report. When watching the video, keep an eye out for another mystery photographer up in the executive suite of NYU.

Based on recent rescues of fledglings, it’s clear there are two American Kestrel families near Washington Square.  One to the Northwest and one to the Southwest.  Both groups tested territorial limits with the Washington Square Hawks this evening.  It was a lot of fun to watch.

The eyass continues to jump and show off.  But still shows no signs of leaving the nest.  Like many urban eyasses, this one may take its time and fledge later than normal. 

I was watching the eyass on the Washington Square nest and a women joined me.  We started discussing the fledge date and I said the fledge window had started.  She retorted, “She won’t fledge yet, her tail is too short.”

I wanted to scream! Yes, an eyass usually waits to fledge until it is mature enough, which is best measured by the length of its tail.  However, eyasses fledge too early for their own good all the time.  This time of year, hawks fledging too early keep many a rehabber busy.

So, could all the hawk watching newbies, please remember that when it comes to hawk behavior each bird is different.  Some fledge early, some late.  Some like to beg for food, others are quiet.  Some become independent quickly, others take time to become independent. 

This variation between nests, based on the individual parents behavior, site logistics, and the individual fledglings is what make urban hawk watching fascinating.  I’m looking forward to years of following the Washington Square hawks and learning how the parents and their children adapt to a heavily populated urban park.