Urban Hawks

May 29, 2010December 25, 2020Eagles, Falcons, Hawks and Osprey

Broadway Bridge

I visited the scrape on Saturday afternoon. The eyasses have matured a great deal since I last saw them. They look like they should be ready to fledge by next weekend.

I’ve included some photographs of the bridge and the Harlem River. I realized in my excitement over finding this year’s scrape, I forgot to document the area. Below the bridge are the Metro North Hudson River Line tracks and the Harlem River. The bridge has two levels, an upper deck for the 1 subway train, and a lower deck for car traffic.

May 24, 2010December 25, 2020Eagles, Falcons, Hawks and Osprey

More Broadway Bridge

I’ve become fascinated with the Broadway Bridge scrape. It’s the first time I’ve been able to watch young Peregrine Falcons in person. It’s a lot different than watching the 55 Water Street video feed.

Tonight there was a feeding by one of the parents, although it looks like the eyasses can pick at food by themselves. I’m looking forward to watching this pair grow up and fledge.

May 23, 2010December 25, 2020St. John/Columbia Red-tailed Hawks

St. John On Sunday

Here’s a brief video of the surviving eyass, who appears healthy. Let’s hope it survives and fledges sometime in the next ten days.

May 22, 2010December 25, 2020St. John/Columbia Red-tailed Hawks

Three, Two, Then One

An eyass died over the last few days at St. John the Divine, and it looks like we have only a single surviving eyass. The remains of the second eyass are visible at the front of the nest. The parents will remove the eyass after a few days.

Some hawk watchers have suggested removing the eyass to have it tested. However, with two healthy parents and a difficult location, this seems to be impractical. There is the danger that the healthy eyass might prematurely fledge and be injured if the nest is approached. This is also the possibility that anyone who attempts to remove the dead eyass will be attacked by the parents. Either the rehabber or the parents could be injured if this happens! Furthermore, unless the cause of death was obviously frounce (a disease caught from pigeons), any test results would take too long to aid in the treatment of the surviving eyass.

So, the best course of action in this case, seems to be no action.

May 22, 2010March 5, 2024Eagles, Falcons, Hawks and Osprey

Broadway Bridge Peregrine Falcons

New York City has a large population of Peregrine Falcons. My favorite pair has a scrape on Broadway Bridge, easily accessible by the 1 subway train. It’s the Marble Hill-225th Street stop. The bridge is a drawbridge over the Harlem River and allows you some of the closest views of Peregrine Falcons in the city. This year, their scrape is situated so that you can see the eyasses being fed.

Yes, that is a dead bird blocking the drainage hole.

May 22, 2010December 25, 2020Highbridge Park Red-tailed Hawks, Inwood Hill Park Red-tailed Hawks

Highbridge Park and Inwood Hill Park Nests

I visited the Inwood Hill and Highbridge Park nests on Saturday.

Although I saw the male briefly at Inwood Hill, I had no luck seeing how the nest was doing. The tree leaves are so filled in now, it was impossible to see the nest. The Inwood Hill hawk nest was damaged earlier this year, and hawk watchers in the park believe the female laid a second set of eggs. The behavior of the parents lead everyone to believe there are eyasses, but we may not know until they fledge!

The Highbridge nest is doing fine. When I arrived the male was in a tree about 100 yards from the nest. The nest itself has at least two eyasses, both of whom look healthy. All of the pictures are from the Highbridge nest. Just like in Inwood, dense foliage makes looking into the nest difficult.