Watching Flaco on Wednesday night was somewhat disappointing. He roosted in a familiar tree, flew to some nearby trees, but didn’t hunt. He made a trip over the Andrew Haswell Green Bench area and then returned but made a second trip over the area and disappeared. Searches of the construction site came up empty. He could have be flying to the Loch or the Wildflower Meadow. But now that he isn’t hooting, and the trees have leafed out, he’s hard to follow.
A quick visit to Columbia University let me see what looks like the last eyass on Havemeyer Hall. It was climbing the scaffolding and then jumped to the top of the clock to enjoy some shade. I also saw the adult male on the Low Library watching the nest. I suspect the other two youngsters have fledged but I couldn’t find them.
The three youngsters spent the early afternoon on the church tower, often watched over by their father. In the late afternoon, their mother caught a pigeon and cleaned it on top of a building on the southwest corner of Broadway and 85th Street. Two of the fledglings got very excited and flew around the mother, and one landed on a building at 86th and Broadway.
After the pigeon was cleaned the mother placed it on top of 530 West End Avenue, and the two fledgling took turns eating it.
The afternoon started quietly with one youngster on the nest and the father on 255 West 85th Street. The father came closer being on 530 West End Avenue, but except for some begging things stayed quiet.
In the late afternoon, a sibling appeared on the nest and then soon made two trips to a building on the SE corner of Broadway and 86th Street, making a stop on 255 West 85th Street. It got fed on the SW edge of 257 West 86th Street. During all of this both parents went to Riverside Drive, with the male spending time on the Normandy.
After I packed up my camera, the last youngster to fledge left the eyrie! I had to leave but other say two fledglings eating on 255 West 85th Street and another fledgling chasing pigeons.
When I arrived this afternoon, all three youngsters of the 86th and West End Avenue nest were on the eastern face of the church tower. Their mother was above the Citibank branch at 86th and Broadway, and the father was on 530 West End Avenue.
One fledgling left nest, and every so often one of the hawks on the tower would call for food, but other than that nothing much happened for a few hours.
Then one fledgling, and then a second appeared on top of 530 West End Avenue, with the adult male also making a visit. One fledgling made a few strong flights, possibly following a parent. Eventually, as I was packing up to go home, food was delivered to 530 West End Avenue. Then two birds flew down to the tower. It wasn’t clear, but it looked like two fledglings.
I returned to the nest site after the rain showers on Friday to find all three youngsters still on the nest. They slept and a few were active, flapping about. Then the first fledgling flew without warning to the building across the street.
