The Riverside Nest finally had some changes in nesting behavior today. It wasn’t the sure sign of a hatch, you would have by the sighting of an eyass or the motions of a first feeding, but there were positive signs. The mother left the nest unattended twice for about a minute each, and both parents spent time looking into the nest together.
We should know what’s happening for sure by the end of the week.
A visit today to Highbridge Park, found their nest to be active with two or three eyasses (baby hawks). Both parents were both engaged in keeping the eyasses warm and feeding them. This pair consistently has eyasses in mid-April, and they continue the tradition this year.
At the end of the video, note that the mother comes back with a wet set of chest feathers. (For those who might not believe this is Manhattan, in the video, you can see one of the Circle Line boats pass by!)
While searching for a possible Red-tailed Hawk nest, I saw this American Kestrel at 133rd and Broadway. It was a fun find, because I was able to I.D. it without binoculars based on its tail pump and silhouette. As you have more experience as a birder, lots of little clues just start to click in automatically.
Now if I could only understand shorebirds…
Manhattan’s hawk watchers are running all around the island hoping to see the first eyasses of spring. Although there are hopeful signs at the Cathedral, none have been sighted yet. I visited the Riverside, Cathedral and Fifth Avenue nests on Saturday.
The first day the Riverside female started sitting on this year’s nest was March 8th. This doesn’t mean she laid eggs that day, but it’s the day we can start counting forward. Red-tailed Hawk egg incubation takes between 25-32 days. Add to that the time it takes to lay eggs and the few days it takes for a hatchling to strong enough to stand up and be spotted, and you might need to add as much as a week more.
So, that puts the nest watch into high gear if my math is correct. We might see eyasses by next weekend.
The weather wasn’t kind over the last month, and the large storm that flooded much of Rhode Island may mean the area will have lots of hawk nest failures. Let’s keep our fingers crossed. The Riverside nest is the most exposed nest we have in Manhattan.
This year the hawks nesting in upper Highbridge Park have moved their nest lower and a few blocks north. If you’re a good hill climber, you can get a decent look into the nest. This area seems to be a great spot for Red-tailed Hawks even though it is surrounded by highways and apartment buildings.
The female stayed on the nest the entire time I was up at the nest. Any pictures of a hawk off the nest are of the male.
