Urban Hawks

April 18, 2008December 23, 2020927 5th Avenue Red-tailed Hawks

Tolerance Of A Young One

While we wait to see if this year’s 5th Avenue nest is a success, we all have been amazed by the tolerance Pale Male and Lola is showing towards a young hawk that was born last year.

The hawk flew south just east of Fifth Avenue, then circled near the nest and then went west over the model boat pond. Lola didn’t even get up when this happened and Pale Male didn’t appear. If the eggs hatch, I wonder if this tolerance will continue.

The pictures that follow are single image of the young hawk, and the rest, which were taken about half an hour later, are of Lola having a stretch.

April 18, 2008December 18, 2020Owls

Friday, 4-18-08

Tonight, the young ones were more aggressive about coming to the edge of the cavity. There are definitely at least two nestlings.

Adult whinny and hoot-hoot vocalizations were heard. A raccoon seemed to trigger the hoot-hoots.

Feeding of what may be moths, continued as their were frequent flights between the trees near the West Drive’s street lights, an interim stop on top of a broken sapling ten feet in front of the nest and the cavity. One pictures of a nestling shows the food, but it is too blurry to see if it is definitely a moth.

The male was reported to have been out of the cavity all day, and the female left just as I arrived. They both would have been fun to photograph, but I concentrated on the cavity and its current jewels.

There is something in the beak of the owl. This was taken just after the parent left

April 17, 2008December 23, 2020Other Birds

Yellow-crowned Night-Heron

A Yellow-crowned Night-Heron was perched on a branch of a Sweet Gum Tree on the north bank of the Pool, at dusk, Thursday evening. This is a new bird for my Central Park list.

April 17, 2008December 23, 2020Highbridge Park Red-tailed Hawks

Highbridge Nest Still Brooding

The Highbridge nest hasn’t hatched yet. I went up hoping it would be Manhattan’s first nest with eyasses, but not yet.

The female was sitting when I arrived. The male arrived on a nearby tree being chased by Blue Jays. He eat HIS meal in sight of the female, but didn’t bring her any food or give her a break while I was there!

April 17, 2008December 21, 2020Owls

Thursday, 4-17-08

Tonight was a wonderful evening. The behavior of the parents was similar to past nights. What was wonderful this evening was that after the female few out, a nestling came to the edge of the cavity in the daylight, so we finally got to see one of them clearly.

April 16, 2008December 21, 2020Owls

Wednesday, 4-16-08

It was an interesting night. The male was already out sitting on a branch near the nest cavity when I arrived. The female came out early and rested on a branch ten feet from the cavity in very bright light.

There was movement about the site by both owls and both whinny and hoot-hoot sounds were made.

The owls continued the active trips back to the nest. It’s unclear if this is feeding or behavior to encourage fledging. The dull nights are over!

I can’t tell how many kids there are. I’ve included lots of pictures, just in case someone thinks they can tell some of the nestlings apart.