Croton Point Park
I also visited Croton Point Park on Saturday. On the landfill cap, there were a pair of Northern Harriers and at least two American Kestrels.
Rockefeller Preserve
I visited the Rockefeller Preserve on Saturday and got to see a fun American Kestrel vs. Red-tailed Hawk show. It was all about territory protection. The Kestrel was protecting its family’s territory. The family seemed to be two adults and two juveniles.
Rat Machine
Although my schedule has prevented from seeing the hawks in the morning, fellow hawk watchers report that both fledglings have discovered the Boat Basin dumpsters, Riverside Park’s Rat Machine!
The hunting seems to take place in the late mornings.
On Friday afternoon, when I arrived, I could only find one fledgling but saw both of the parents.
Widening Range
Both fledglings are hunting successfully and have widened their range. It makes finding and photographing them more difficult, but means they’re doing just fine. I’m actually finding it easier to find the parents these days than the kids!
Riverside Rain Delay
The whole family was together just north of the Boat Basin Café Monday evening, as a thunderstorm rolled through the city. I only had about ten minutes with them before I needed to leave the park.
Survival Skills
On Saturday, we got to see one of the fledglings hunt and display the skills it will need to survive on its own. It isn’t independent just yet, but nice to know that its getting close, especially with the colder weather arriving.
On some other hawk blogs and forums, there has been discussion about these fledglings and their survival chances being from a second clutch. Most of the arguments have been based on conjecture with no real data about second clutches. Before we jump to conclusions, we might want to just take our time and observe these two fledglings and see what develops.
