Urban Hawks

At this point, we’ve lost tract of their nightly roosts, so it’s hard to figure out where their evening is starting.  The evening started slowly with the first sign of an owl being twenty to thirty minutes after dusk.  The female called from the area near last year’s nest cavity.

Once we caught up to her, she moved about quickly.  She went across the drive with the male, and ended up near the waterfall at the northeast edge of The Pool.  The male went into a cavity in a London Plain but quickly exited.

They then went up to a tree by the West Drive around 101st, and he went into a cavity in a different London Plain.  They ended up being very cooperative in this tree with him flying back and forth showing his fiery red image in the sky.

They then ended up moving south, stopped by their nest cavity from 2007, and down to the playground at 100th.

The theme for the day was 2008.  The female was in the roost her old mate had used for weeks last season when I arrived this evening.  Like last year, hundreds of runners went past without noticing.

It was a brief evening after fly out.  They ran us around the southern Loch area.  The female even made a visit to last year’s nest cavity.  They seemed to be enjoying the balmy temperatures by quickly moving about long distances, but it meant that we quickly lost track of them.

I arrived a little late to see fly out, but heard reports of a quick copulation after fly out in the area down near the stream at Glen Span Arch.  The owls had escaped from view.

Luckly, after a few minutes, another birder found the owls in at the edge of the lawn near to the two pine trees across the road.  The owls stayed there for quite some time.

They then went back across the road, only to return to the west side of the West Drive.  The owls then took a long route that eventually take them to the playground at 96/97th and Central Park West.  They went along the Pool, copulated somewhere around 101st Street near the bank of The Pool and crossed over the 100th Street road heading south.  They hunted along the subway vents just inside the park from 99th to 98th, then along the edges of the 96/97th Street Viaduct, luckily at the park not the traffic level.  

I was by myself tonight and the owls didn’t make themselves known until 7 p.m.  They were calling near the stream at the lower end of the Loch.  They copulated as usual and then I lost track of the male.  The female perched herself on the bypass road and called on and off for about 45 minutes.  I left her there around 8 p.m.

The female owl has switched cavities, seemingly moving back to the area of Glen Span Arch.  I guess what looked like an owl nesting, was an owl getting out of the cold on Friday night! 

Tonight, thanks to Jean being a little late she found them both near Glen Span Arch.  The female moved east and ended up in a tree near a rustic bridge.  She called for awhile and the male arrived.  He might have brought a treat but it was hard to tell.  They head rubbed and then copulated.  The male then flew off.

The female then flew off across the stream and called on and off for thirty minutes.