Urban Hawks

August 13, 2007December 23, 2020Southern Central Park Red-tailed Hawks

Roosting On 15 Central Park West

Not to be out done by their child, the 888 Seventh Avenue parents spent the night on 15 Central Park West. This may be the highest roost, we’ve seen a Red-tailed Hawk use.

One of the hawks arrived and then left. I think it was the female of the pair.

The female returns to the building perching on scaffolding.

Soon the male arrives (right) and the female then joins him on a the left. These are the highest windows on the building on the north tower of the rear building at 15 CPW.

Although it looks like daylight in this long exposure, it is well past dark and both hawks have settled in for the evening.

While I was watching these two, an inline skater came by and showed me pictures from earlier in the evening. It was of the 888 Seventh Avenue fledgling. She was hunting on the bridge just inside the park from Central Park South at Seventh Avenue. Unfortunately, while he was taking pictures someone actually went up to the fledgling and touched her. No harm was done, but it’s a shame some New Yorkers don’t have common sense!

August 12, 2007December 22, 2020Southern Central Park Red-tailed Hawks

On Top Of 15 Central Park West

On Sunday evening, I found the 888 fledgling high atop the new Zeckendorf building at 15 Central Park West. She looked quite majestic that high up. I think she’s sitting on a 45 million dollar condo! The building’s 201 units sold for over 2 billion. The 888 Seventh Avenue hawks have expensive tastes!

She dove quickly to what looked to be the roof of the YMCA a few blocks north. Was pigeon a bedtime snack?

August 12, 2007December 22, 2020Other Red-tailed Hawks

Mt. Sinai Guggenheim Pavilion

Up at the top of the Guggenheim Pavillion of Mt. Sinai Hospital was a Red-tailed Hawk and an American Crown on Sunday morning. I’m not sure who this hawk is. Is it the new hawk folks have been seeing or Pale Male up north?

Update: Robert Schmunk reminded me that this could also be the St. John the Divine male. Both of the St. John’s hawks hunt in northern portions of Central Park.

August 11, 2007December 28, 2020Eagles, Falcons, Hawks and Osprey, Other Birds, Southern Central Park Red-tailed Hawks

High Above Opposite Ends Of The Park

I birded both ends of Central Park on Saturday. Up north, there were Snowy Egrets flying south. The fall migration has started and the species list on NYC Bird Report has warblers, ducks and other birds that haven’t been seen since the spring.

Down at the southern end of the park one of the 888 Seventh Avenue Red-tailed Hawk parents was on the upper right hand corner of the Essex House sign.

An American Kestrel came by to give the Red-tailed Hawk a hard time, but didn’t actually come too close before…

August 6, 2007December 17, 2020927 5th Avenue Red-tailed Hawks, Other Birds, Southern Central Park Red-tailed Hawks

Sunday Walk Starts And Ends With Fathers

My Sunday walk from the Sheep Meadow to the Metropolitan Museum of Art started and ended with two fathers, the 888 Seventh Avenue male, nicknamed Junior and the 5th Avenue male, Pale Male.

Junior was with his daughter in the southwestern corner of the Sheep Meadow. He had just delivered a late lunch.

After eating and wiping her beak on some bark, she relaxed in the shade.

After watching the fledgling, I went up to The Lake to watch Sandpipers. Here are two Least Sandpipers having fun. They’re quite a social bunch. We’re used to seeing a stray Sandpiper or two in the park, so it’s a treat to watch the Least Sandpiper flock behavior.

On my way out of the park, I saw another father, Pale Male on the Beresford’s North Tower.

August 4, 2007December 25, 2020Eagles, Falcons, Hawks and Osprey, Other Birds

Jamaica Bay Wildlife Refuge

On Saturday, I took a NYC Audbon trip to the Jamaica Bay Wildlife Refuge. The trip was led by Don Riepe, who did a wonderful job. Audubon provided a bus, so the trip was easy. After leaving the Manhattan Audubon office, our first stop was the Jamaica Bay Wildlife Refuge’s West Pond, followed by the East Pond and then a visit to Fort Tilden before returning to Manhattan.

An easy walk from the visitor’s center is an Osprey nest on the West Pond. The 2007 kids had already left. These are the adults.

This is a second nest on the other side of the West Pond.

A tree filled with both Snowy and Great Egrets.

We then visited the East Pond, stopping first at a blind. There we saw a Black-crowned Night-Heron and…

Then it was off to the East Pond. Here’s a Gull. (Still learning how to I.D. them.)

Great Blue Heron (left) and Black-crowned Night-Heron (right)

Immature Peregrine Falcon. This is the first time I’ve seen one on the ground!

A bridge near Fort Tilden, where the center gun turret was converted into a Peregrine Falcon nest site. It might have been the birthplace of the Peregrine Falcon seen on the East Pond.

It was a fun day. The trip had a full range of birders, from the beginner to the advanced. Don Riepe, did a great job of keeping everyone interested and kept us out of the Poison Ivy too! NYC Audubon has a full calender of events throughout the year. The current schedule can be found on their website, www.nycaudubon.org.