Urban Hawks

May 30, 2008December 23, 2020Tompkins Square Red-tailed Hawks

Growing Up On The Lower East Side

The three Houston street eyasses are looking more and more mature each day. They look healthy and well attended to by their parents.

May 30, 2008December 23, 2020Other Red-tailed Hawks

CCNY Nest Looks Unused

After learning of the City College nest on Shepard Hall, I’ve been taking a look at it ever few weeks. It appears to have been unused.

It’s unclear if the pair had prepared the nest but used an alternate site or if the nest failed for some reason.

In any case here is a recent photo of the nest. If it had eyasses in the nest, there would certainly be dirty by now!

May 30, 2008December 21, 2020Owls

I felt totally outwitted this evening. They looked to be going down to the stream after fly out, so I set up to watch them by the water. Instead, they came down, saw a raccoon and went off in a different direction. So, only one photograph tonight.

May 29, 2008December 21, 2020Owls

Thursday, 5-29-08

The owls were very hard to find in their standard tree this evening. The leaves are fully out on the tree.

After fly out, they went down to the stream had some fun, went close to us and then disappeared. It was great to see them by and in the water.

May 27, 2008Red-tailed Hawk Nest Updates

5-27-08 Manhattan Red-tailed Hawk Nest Update

Of the eight known nests in Manhattan, here's their status this week (changes in italics)…

5th Avenue, nest failure. NYC Audubon is coordinating with the building to retrieve the eggs for testing when they do their window washing.

888 Seventh Avenue, uncertain.

St. John the Divine, two eyasses visible.

Highbridge Park, nest abandoned, two eyasses presumed to have died at about two weeks of age, reasons unkown. Robert Schmunk, James O'Brien and I have all spent time up at the nest over the last week and it has been abandoned. James O'Brien discovered the pair mating this weekend, so we've all agreed the nest has failed.

Inwood Hill Park, two or three eyasses depending on reporters. Nest is now surrounded by green leaves making it difficult to observe.

South Riverside Park,. Parents have built a new nest. It is uncertain if they will lay eggs this year, or wait until next spring. Toxicology reports due for the second and third eyasses soon.

Houston Street, three eyasses.

Shepard Hall, City College, nest is too difficult to observe to be sure. Update 5/28: I had confused a note from James O'Brien about where copulation had occurred. It was at Highbridge, not City College. So, behavior still makes the nest look active with hatched eggs, however there has yet to be a sighting of an eyas.

May 26, 2008December 21, 2020Owls

Monday, 5-26-08

It was just two of us watching tonight. We lost the owls quickly after fly out. We would have gone looking for them, but a long day of birding and a warning from a Zone Gardener that a mugging had just taken place by The Pool made us choose to make it a short evening.