Inwood Hill Park has been a frustrating location for me this year. The new nest location made it difficult to see into the nest, so the few times I went, I didn’t see any eyasses. After they fledged, I also had trouble finding them.
On Saturday, I finally was able to find one of the fledglings with the help of Ranger Rob Mastrianni. The fledgling was spending a quite afternoon relaxing below the old eagle hack site.
Tonight started with the usual American Robin mobbing of the owls. The family is no longer a unified group, with the younger owls going off ahead of their parents. It seems as though the young ones try and sneak out while the robins have their attention on their parents.
Tonight, two went north along the creek. After a few stops, we lost them.
Then we heard two owls near the roost tree, singing to one another. Leaf cover prevented us from finding them.
One of the fledglings got itself into trouble and was taken to the Animal Medical Center. It has lead poisoning and a lame foot. It is now in the Horvath’s care.
I searched Morningside park for other fledgling, worrying about its health. I gave up, and as I walked east on 110th Street, I heard someone call my name. It was Lincoln Karim, who had an adult and a fledgling in view on different buildings. The adult was at 108th and Manhattan Avenue and the fledgling was on the lower roof of the building at the NW corner of 110th and Fredrick Douglas Boulevard.
After about fifteen minutes, the fledgling got up, and flew to Central Park. We could hear the robins and jays mobbing the fledgling, but couldn’t find it. At dusk, with almost no light, Lincoln found the hawk. He had put his camera away, but was very kind to point mine at the hawk. I couldn’t find it on my own.
So, tonight Central Park has a fledgling Red-tailed Hawk!
Tonight started out slowly, with it taking a great deal of time to find any of the owls. But eventually, one showed itself, followed by more. How may more, I’m not sure.
Then the owls made their way north, stopping by the stream. I went around to the other side, while other stayed on one side of the Loch. While I saw two owls in a low tree branch, they got to see an owl take a long bath.
I also heard one of the parents calling, although we didn’t get a family sing along, like we did on Monday.
Marie Winn’s Central Park in the Dark is on sale today. Congratulations to Marie, whose new book is getting excellent reviews. If you enjoyed Red-tails in Love, you’re sure to enjoy this new book.
I’m also excited that book is on sale for personal reasons. The jacket photographs are mine and I’m included as a character in a number of chapters.
The book is a fun, easy read and is available online at a number of online resellers including:
Amazon
Barnes & Noble
Borders
or your local bookstore
Don’t just take my work for it. Here is some early praise for the book:
“New York City never sleeps, as Marie Winn proves in this delightful blend of natural history and human obsession. With her usual grace and humor, Winn weaves stories of tiny owls, exotic moths – even slug sex – into a captivating tapestry depicting the nocturnal wonders of America’s most famous park.” —Scott Weidensaul, author of “Of a Feather” and “Living on the Wind”
“How great is New York? Right in the middle of all that finance and culture
and diplomacy, there’s a great reservoir of wildness—and people crazy-wonderful enough to explore it day and night. Marie Winn’s account will make you want to grab your headlamp and head for the park, wherever you live.” —Bill McKibben, author of The Bill McKibben Reader: Pieces from an Active Life
“Marie Winn’s new book is another gem. You pick it up and immediately have fun, learning a lot as you read about what goes on at night in the city.” —Bernd Heinrich, author of Winter World: The Ingenuity of Animal
Survival
“Marie Winn lights up Central Park at night with wit, intelligence and a warm humanity that makes this book a love song to the natural world, an elegy for a lost friend, and an invitation to the unknown reader to follow her into the inviting dark.” —Jonathan Rosen, author of The Life of the Skies: Birding at the End of Nature
We had singing again. Jean said based on the pitch, she thinks the kids are two boys and a girl. I have no idea being tone deaf!
After we went looking for the kids, without any luck by the stream, one of the parents called while we were packing up. As we left we heard another owl call by the arch.
