Other Animals

Southern Flying Squirrel

I was thrilled to get my third species of squirrel for Central Park on Friday evening. Andrew Eastwick had reported seeing a Southern Flying Squirrel on Thursday evening, and I was fortunate to meet up with him on Friday to search for the squirrel again. After a few false starts, we found it again.

It ended up being in one of the darkest locations possible, so I was able to get some not so perfect I.D. shots. We kept track of it for about ten or fifteen minutes before we lost track of it. Sadly due to the darkness we didn’t get to see it glide.

When we had an American Red Squirrel years ago, it became a tourist attractions and some “do gooders” decided it was a good idea to feed it and bring it water. While it might have seemed to be a good idea, the daily delivery of peanuts only increased the tensions between the American Red Squirrel and the numerous Eastern Gray Squirrels in the park. So, I’ll give this nocturnal squirrel its privacy and not disclose its location.

Update: The following evening I was able to capture video of the squirrel eating, which has been added to this post.

Tompkins Square Red-tailed Hawks

All Fledged at TSP

All of the eyasses were off the nest on Friday. I caught up with two of them. I couldn’t find the third.

The parents are still feeding them from the nest, so they are frequently returning there. At some locations, the fledglings never return to the nest, and on others it stays a feeding location for a while. I suspect some combination of height, especially on nests located on buildings, and condition of the nest, as some are full of flies, play a part.

Like any typical fledge week, the fledglings are staying fairly high in the trees. They should get lower and lower as the summer progresses.

Tompkins Square Red-tailed Hawks

Soon

Unless one left last Tuesday night, the Tompkins Square Nest hadn’t had a fledge yet. While I was there in the late afternoon, all three eyasses were very active. Their branching as advanced from brief hops in and out of nearby branches and then back to the nest to a full exploration of the tree’s high branches.

Just as I was about to leave, Amelia came in and ate some leftovers. Then the new male came in briefly to deliver prey and I got to see the whole family on the nest.

Update: One eyass left the nest on Wednesday, June 11 in the morning only to return to the nest by the afternoon.

Tompkins Square Red-tailed Hawks

Tompkins Square Park

The hawk watchers are on fledge watch in Tompkins Square Park. The eyasses are old enough and are jump-flapping and branching, but as of 6pm on Sunday, still hadn’t fledged. Predicting when birds will fledge is almost impossible but those who have 9 to 5 jobs were hoping it would happen on the weekend!

It was a punk band concert day in the park. Maybe the birds wanted a calmer day to fledge!

Eagles, Falcons, Hawks and Osprey, Tompkins Square Red-tailed Hawks

Tompkins Square Park

I went to Tompkins Square Park on Friday afternoon to see if any of the eyasses had fledged. They were all still on the nest, although they are branching a bit more than a few days ago. Both parents spent time together on the cross of Most Holy Redeemer Church on 3rd Street.

As a bonus, I also caught up with an American Kestrel on 2nd Avenue. There are a few kestrel nests in the neighborhood, some that have just fledged and others that are about to fledge.