Urban Hawks

By the third feeding I saw this afternoon it became clear that we had three eyasses (baby hawks) in the nest.  Eggs are laid over the period of a few days, and so the eggs don’t hatch all at once.  Since newly hatched eyasses have trouble standing, during the first few days observing a newly hatched nest, you may discover the last hatchling a few days after seeing the older ones.

This relatively low nest, with the exit ramp at the same level of the nest, is giving us a wonderful opportunity to view the young eyasses during their first week.  A rare treat for those of us accustomed to building nests like Trump Parc, St. John the Divine or Fifth Avenue.  The last video clearly shows all three.

Metalized plastic balloons are an environmental hazard for wildlife, since they are not biodegradable and can travel long distances.  Today the adult female found one with a Happy New Year’s message in Riverside Park and tried to weave it into the nest.  The adult male didn’t seem to happy with the idea and luckily the balloon fell out of the nest.  Stella Hamilton, a long time hawk watcher, retrieved the balloon and made sure it was disposed of properly.

Since these types of balloons are dangerous to wildlife, it’s recommended to get children in the habit of popping these balloons at the end of a party as a fun activity, rather then releasing them.

I was wrong about two things in my post yesterday, that early nest activity was boring and that we would have no sun until mid-week.  The hawks, young and old were very active at Riverside and there was sun all afternoon.

The adult male brought lots of twigs with leaves to line the nest and stayed close to the nest for most of the afternoon.  The female rearranged lots of twigs and moved some dead prey around.  She also removed some of the well eaten prey.

I went up to the Riverside nest from my office, this evening thinking the rain storms had passed and ended up getting drenched.  It would be nice to take some picture of the eyasses in the sun, but it doesn’t look that will be possible until the middle of next week.

The eyasses’ mother started to feed them soon after I arrived, just as a downpour started.  She continued to feed them for a few minutes and then protected them from the rain.

The Riverside Park nest has hatched.  There are at least two eyasses (nestling hawks).  They were visible for about ten minutes this afternoon.  The second video shows them the best.  Sorry for the camera shake, the wind was very strong today.

The eyasses should fledge (leave the nest) in 42-46 days.  For the next few weeks, there won’t be much action.  There will be lots of sleeping, with a feeding every one and a half to two hours. 

As the eyasses get bigger, you’ll have more and more to see every week. If you’re a casual hawk watcher, you don’t need to rush over to the nest now, but should plan to see them in the second half of May and early June.