Eagles, Falcons, Hawks and Osprey, Extralimital, Other Birds

Red-Shouldered Hawks in the Everglades

Red-Shouldered Hawks are rare visitors to Central Park, so it was a pleasure to see them in the Everglades over my Christmas/New Year’s break while visiting Florida.

The first four photographs are of a juvenile bird, then some of two adults.  The last two are of an attack on an egret by a Red-shouldered Hawk at the Shark Valley Visitor’s Center.  (I was the only one among about 30 visitors who noticed the attack.  I guess people being unaware of nature isn’t only limited to the city!)

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Other Birds

Wild Turkey in the New Year

Central Park’s Wild Turkey is doing just fine.  Wild Turkeys have done well in other Manhattan parks, including Morningside Park and Battery Park, so there is no reason to worry about this bird.  Yes, there are risks for the bird, but are they any greater than the risks in suburban or rural area of New York state?

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The uppertail coverts seem much more pronounced than in the late fall.
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General News

Bobby Horvath, Wildlife Rehabilitator

Rob Jett has a wonderful blog entry about Bobby Horvath's rescue of a young bald eagle out on Long Island.  Click here to read the article.

Bobby was involved with assisting many of the Red-tails that got into trouble in New York City this summer.  If you're looking for some last minute 2008 tax deductions, and you're a NYC Raptor lover, I can think of no better donation then to help Bobby's organization. 

If you’d like to make a monetary donation, checks can be made out to “Wildlife in Need of Rescue and Rehabilitation” and sent to:

WINORR, Inc.
202 N. Wyoming Avenue
North Massapequa, NY 11758

Eagles, Falcons, Hawks and Osprey, Other Birds

Christmas Birds

I did some lazy birding in Central Park on Christmas Day.

I started out and ended up searching for owls, which were impossible to find today. The red phased Screech-Owl is only being found on very cold days.  Her alternative cavities haven’t been discovered. 

The Screech-Owl from last season, either from the 60’s or up in the North Wood, haven’t been found either.  Nor have any Long-eared Owls stayed for more than a day, although two have been seen in the fall.

Between my owl searches, I did get to see a Cooper’s Hawk, two Common Loons, some cute Hooded Mergansers and the “other” Red-headed Woodpecker (up by the tennis courts rather than in the Locust Grove).

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