Urban Hawks

I went to Riverside Park after the rain on Tuesday evening.  It was wonderful to be the only one there for about 30 minutes.  It was like watching the parents in the winter.

I found the parents first.  They were together on the same street lamp, in the traffic island were last year’s nest was located.  They spent time preening and drying of from the rain.

I then found the fledglings near the river about a block south of the nest.   A downy feather floating down from a tree gave them away.  After about fifteen minutes, the mother joined the kids and they looked like they were going to roost by the river tonight.

We’re finally having some nice weather.  The two fledglings seem to be enjoying it.  They were both very active this evening, as were the parents who were nearby.

The mother arrived with some food and eat part of it.   She then gave it to one of the fledglings, who was getting frustrated with eating in a tree, and came down to the bushes to eat.  It was a good idea, even if it was a little unsafe.

Today both fledglings spent lots of time near a group of Robins near the Boat House Café.  Both ended up getting mobbed at some point.

Both birds also spent time on the ground.  The mother even dropped some food on the ground for one of the fledglings to eat.  The youngsters played with sticks, explored the bushes and had a few play fights.  The “action” was great fun to watch, although on a few occasions the birds ended up a little too close to the exit ramp of the highway making us a little nervous.

There were a few moments when passers by or hawk watchers would get too close to the fledglings, and today almost everyone was happy to take a few steps backwards to give the birds some breathing room.  It was nice to see New Yorkers, after an explanation of how concerned we were that the birds not be “pushed” up to the highway, stay on the paths and kept their distance.

The fledglings are now flying up and down the strip of parkland around the nest, and doing lots of exploring on the ground.  One of the fledglings ate leftovers that had been dropped on the ground.  There was also a feeding by the mother, who stayed with a fledgling rather than just leaving the food.  It was a nice day.

I visited the Riverside Nest in the late afternoon and early evening.  Both youngsters were about a block south of the nest tree.  One of the youngsters was sitting in a nest.  Whose nest it was unclear, but thankfully it looked to be unused.  The fledgling looked very happy to have found it.

The father arrived with a mouse, but seeing that both youngsters had been fed, ate it himself.  I left just before a powerful storm wiped through the New York area.  I managed to get a cab just in time to stay dry.

I need to comment on a post by Lincoln Karim which he posted on his website, www.palemale.com.  He lashed out at the Urban Park rangers for failing to send the dead Riverside Park fledgling to Ward Stone’s lab for testing.  A necropsy was unnecessary, since the cause of death was clearly an auto accident.  There is no reason to lash out at dedicated public employees and print their phone numbers, so they can be harassed by rabid hawk watchers.

Behind the scenes, the Urban Park Rangers, in association with concerned hawk watchers and New York City Audubon have come together this year to begin to address eyass and fledgling safety issues.  The first document created by the group was an eyass safety document with protocols for handling emergencies.

I’m sure more work will come from the group, which has also started an informal network to report problems, and get volunteers to monitor nest locations.  Already this season, members of the group have helped with rescues of Red-tails and American Kestrels. 

They have also been helping monitor nest sites for rehabilitators, so that prematurely fledged birds can be returned to their parents.  This included making sure that two fledglings could be reunited with their family at the Unisphere nest site.

Improving the lives of Red-tails and other hawks in New York will only happen, if we patiently work with city employees and agencies, non-profits like New York City Audubon and the Central Park Conservancy, and the network of Vets and Rehabbers who volunteer their services to bring birds back to good health.  None of these organizations have any obligation to support Red-tailed hawks.

Hawk enthusiasts, rather than lashing out at organizations for what they aren’t doing to help raptors in New York, should be asking what have they themselves done to support these organizations. 

Have you volunteered your time, your talents, shared your experiences or provided financial assistance to these groups? If you haven’t and you call yourself a hawk lover, why not?