Riverside Nest
After all of the bad weather, the female at Riverside seemed be enjoying the calm after the storm on Wednesday evening. (The video is a little shaky due to the car traffic vibrating the tripod.)
Tuesday, 4-7-09
The female called loudly this evening from the east side of Springbanks Arch. Then she flew off to a spot over the path we used to walk down into the Loch when she had been flying out from Glenspan Arch. She stayed there until a raccoon came near and she went due north flying right past us.
We then lost track of her, and never saw the male this evening.
Sunday, 3-5-09
Saturday had been a wipe out. Sunday was better with at least one owl being found. I think I had both, but never saw them at the same time.
I was only able to get one blurry picture and a wide angle landscape in the moonlight.
Manhattan Nests
From north to south, we have the following confirmed nesting sites in Manhattan this year: Inwood Hill Park, Highbridge Park (back to the old location, which should be safer than last year’s location), Lower Riverside Park (also in a new and safer location), Fifth Avenue and 888 Seventh Avenue. I visited all of them this weekend. They all seem to be in good shape, with chicks expected within the next few weeks.
Some nests have changed from last year.
There is no sign of a nest below 14th Street, although there have been reports of hawks downtown all winter, including Tompkins Square Park, the World Trade Center construction site, the Court Houses around Center Street, Seward Park, Washington Square Park and the Greenway.
Last year’s nest on Houston Street is not being used again this year. The male from last year’s nest died of Fronce and while hawks have been seen on the Lower East Side all winter, no signs of a new nest has been found.
The St. John the Divine’s pair have both been seen recently but further uptown. Construction continues on the church and they may have moved but no one has found a new nest location. This one is a real mystery.
The Shepard Hall, City College nest looks bigger according to reports, but nest looks unoccupied. The hawks may be nesting somewhere nearby.
Here are pictures of four nests from this weekend:
Inwood Hill Park
Highbridge Park
Lower Riverside Drive
Fifth Avenue
My First Eastern Phoebe Of Spring
I got to see my first Eastern Phoebe of the season on Thursday in the Wildflower Meadow.
Thursday, 4-2-09
It was a quiet, still night with no owls to be found. There were about five bats, the sound of a Killdeer, and the blur of runners on the roads around the Loch.
