Switching Sides Again!
The surviving Riverside Park fledgling was back on the Hudson side of the parkway, when I visited on Saturday. I didn’t stay long but all seemed well.
The Spa
The remaining fledgling continues to do fine at Riverside Park. Today the fledgling was back in the area south of the playground. Hunting for rodents along the Drive wall, avoiding Mockingbirds, amusing children in the playground continue to be standard afternoon activities.
Today, I saw the fledgling cool off in the water by the rocks east of the playground. (Lincoln Karim arranged for this area to be cleaned of trash, so it would be safe for the fledglings.) The large rock outcroppings common in Manhattan parks, collect water making them perfect spas for Red-tails.
Back by the Hudson River
Tonight, I found the fledgling and the father near the Boat House Café. This is back on the west side of the Henry Hudson Parkway, closer to the Hudson River where it was cooler.
The fledgling had found an old nest and was relaxing in it. After about fifteen minutes, I lost track of the fledgling, but soon rediscovered it nearby eating a rodent. Once the fledgling was done eating, the father finished the leftovers.
Good Night Young Fledgling
The surviving Riverside Park fledgling seems to be doing fine. It has an every widening area that it flies around in, which is giving the hawk watchers some exercise. (I learned today, that the fledgling that died Monday was hit by a car, not a truck as I had previously been told.)
Tonight the fedgling spent a great deal of time on the Riverside Drive wall. Some cell phone camera carrying paparazzi got a little close, but no harm was done, although it did interrupt the fledgling’s hunting.
I got to see, what for me is always a treat, a fledgling fall asleep. It always seems to happens in a nice order. The robins go to sleep, everything gets quiet, the hawk preens for a few minutes and then falls asleep. And then I smile.
Northern Mockingbird in Riverside Park
Today, I finally found the reason why there had been such aggressive behavior by two Northern Mockingbirds against the Riverside Red-tailed Hawks, a nest carefully woven into a Pine tree to protect the young Mockingbirds.
Lone Fledgling and Father
Tonight, I found the surviving fledgling on the large rock at the south end of the Promenade. It was being watched by its father, who picked up a rat and put it in a tree, where the fledgling came and took it.
The fledgling didn’t eat much, but made lots of calls. It was as though it was waiting for its lost sibling to call back. Once the fledgling gave up on its meal, the father came in and finished it.
Graphic pictures of a rodent being eaten follow both in video and pictues, readers beware.
