Tonight’s owl watching only lasted ten minutes, but it revealed that the female may have already begun to lay and incubate her eggs. She only came out of the cavity when she heard the male’s calls, quickly copulated with him and after a few minutes of calling returned to the cavity all within ten minutes.
These dates seem to match, almost exactly, the schedule from last year.
The night started with our finding the female’s current roosting cavity, which was a real breakthrough for us.
The male flew into view and she quickly left her cavity to join him. The two owls perched near each other, and then the male flew off into the Loch. The female stayed in two perches calling softly. We didn’t see the male return. The temperature was dropping, so we left before she flew off.
It looks like this pair is starting to be a real couple. The female showed the male where to hunt tonight and he ended up catching a mouse. It also looks like she was given the treat.
No more endless calling by her, but a nice duet, copulation and a quick snack. It’s looking like they’re finally getting in sync with each other.
We realized while leaving the park, that our male needs a nickname. We’ve settled on Mars for the male to go with Trident for the female.
It was a nice night with the male learning to answer back to the calls of the female. They copulated two or three times. The female covered a large area of the Loch going across the stream and then flying back.
All was going well, except the male has hasn’t learned that he’s supposed to be more attentive later in the evening. The female called for over an hour without his returning. Our young male needs to learn to be a better boyfriend!
The action is shifting back to Fifth Avenue from the West Side and the Beresford these days. Spring is right around the corner.
Here are some pictures of the female of the Riverside pair, hanging out on the streetlights above the West Side Highway.
Update: I received an email from Nina Wolf, that the hawks have been breaking off sticks around 84th Street and flying north. So, this may be a sign that their new nest is farther north than last year. If anyone knows of the new nests location, please drop me an email.
