Wow, we saw something fantastic tonight. We saw the male fishing in the stream that flows from Glen Span Arch. He stared at the water and then in a flash swooped down to the water, just touching the surface. (Sorry, no pictures.)
Another behavior, seen in Central Park, New York City. Add fishing to copulation, fledging, hunting, worm eating, bathing, raccoon attacking, etc. All in Manhattan. How great is that!
Saturday, I was only able to see the female once and was unable to photograph either of the owls, so I was a little worried about finding them tonight.
It turned out to be a wonderful evening, with helpful friends and relaxed photogenic owls. Both owls were easily photographed tonight.
They spent some time by the small lawn on the northwest side of Glen Span Arch, hunting for either insects or worms.
There were lots of trips to and from the nest and lots of time spend arranging the sticks. Both hawks seemed to be eager to do the work, although the female seemed to measuring the placement of the sticks with her body and then rearranging much more than the male.
Later in the afternoon, nest building resumed. They both gathered sticks. Sometimes breaking off tree branches and sometimes picking them up from the ground. When they picked them up from the ground, they also engaged in a game of cat and mouse with the local squirrels. They are being very industrious. Last year, they started nesting mid-March, so they do need to get the nest finished soon.
It looks rather certain now that 81st Street by the river will be the location of this year’s nest. When I arrived Saturday afternoon, they were both high in the sky near the Normandy building. They had spent the morning working on the nest and were taking a break.
It looks like the Riverside Red-tailed Hawk pair may be using their old nest from last summer after all. They haven’t been seen in the 90’s this week, but have been building back at their old site a few blocks north of the Boat House Café.
The female was doing remodeling when I arrived late on Friday afternoon. (Thanks to all of the Riverside birders, who emailed about the updated nest location.)
