The three angels at St. John the Divine are very close to using their wings to fly. I spent a delightful Friday afternoon watching them. Although at first only one was viable, quickly all three became active and in view. There was lots of flapping, hopping and jumping.
The next time I visit, I expect one of them may already have fledged!
I was in Riverside Park tonight, not only to visit the hawks but to discuss outstanding hawk safety issues with John Herrold, Riverside Park’s Administrator.
John Herrold had news of the necropsy results and it looks as though the second generation poison brodifacoum was the cause of death, and not bromodiolone which was used near the Boat Basin Café. This would point to buildings along Riverside Park which use brodifacoum rather than the park itself. (Changing poisoning habits outside the park will be much more difficult than influencing park policy, I’m afraid.)
Mr. Herrold talked about how concerned and knowledgeable his staff was about the hawks. It was good to hear that Riverside Park had the hawks on their radar.
Mr. Herrold did a great job of listening. We spoke of improving relations between Riverside Park Hawk watchers and the park, possibly having a meeting every March to allow hawk watchers to express concerns for the upcoming season and to meet his staff. Knowing names and faces before a crisis goes a long way.
We also talked about the dumpsters and I learned that the inappropriate dumpster has been removed, dumpsters with lids brought in for the Boat Basin Café, and plans are underway to purchase a solar powered compactor for the marina. So, this issue seems to be close to resolution.
We also talked about poisons in the park. Here he feels, that except for poisons placed near the dumpsters, which believes was done in error, the park has been greatly improving its approach to rat management. He believes that over the last five years serious efforts have been made to reduce rodenticide use, by introducing traps, limit garbage, etc.
I asked if he could evaluate the period poisons prohibited around a nests to possibly have them start when nesting begins and also to evaluate the use of underground application of loose poisons rather than using bait boxes. He said he would look into it.
So, it looks like a positive dialog has begun.
The fledglings looked great. Both are being well feed by their mother and one even played on the ground today. So far, so good.
My schedule only allowed me to watch the calm period before a feeding at 5th Avenue this evening. Luckily, there was a small bit of action to make the visit worthwhile.
Today morning in Washington Square Park, a group of online hawk camera watchers and chat users met to extend their cyber life into real life.
It’s a good thing too. Once this youngster fledges, everyone will need to know each other. It’s a lot more work, but a lot more fun to track a fledgling in person. The Washington Square hawk watchers are internet savvy, so I wouldn’t be surprised if this fledgling’s location is reported via twitter rather than email or phone calls.
Many of the web cam watchers were making their first visit to the nest. It was fun to watch the excitement of everyone when Bobby perched on One Fifth Avenue, or when both parents circled high above 11th Street to escort an intruder away.
The eastern portion of the park, which has been under construction is now open. I took advantage of the newly opened space to look for perches on buildings too difficult to see while the eastern section of the park was closed. My search ended up being very rewarding. I found a location where one hawk was eating and later some scaffolding where both parents were perched twenty feet apart.
I arrived at the nest late on Saturday, to find a hawk bench full of wonderfully excited hawk watchers. The nest has eyasses again, and all of the old memories seemed to be coming back. These fond memories and some new ones from this year are making wonderful stories for tourists and locals.
Stella Hamilton has a new scope, something she promised to herself she would buy if Pale Male had kids again. Rik Davis, also had his two scopes. Between them and a huge group of “regulars”, the hawk bench became a friendly place where scores of viewers experienced the simple joy of seeing an eyass for the first time and were captivated.
This is the magic of Pale Male.
I haven’t had time to go up to St. John the Divine much this season, and was shocked to see how much the three youngsters (yes, there are three) have grown. They look great. While I enjoyed the single fledgling last year, it will be great if Morningside Park has three fledglings flying around later this month.
