Urban Hawks

July 12, 2006December 20, 2020Other Birds

Green Heron Hatchlings

Better late than never, Central Park’s nesting Green Herons have at least two new hatchlings on their nest.

July 11, 2006December 20, 2020St. John/Columbia Red-tailed Hawks

Confident Fliers

My flight returned from Finland in time for me to spend the early evening up at Morningside Park.

One of the parents was on the Cathedral when I arrived around 7 p.m.

Donna Browne found one of the fledglings in a tree just inside the park, off Morningside Drive around 111th Street.

One fledgling protects the food from the other fledgling.

The behavior is playful and not at all aggressive.

Both fledglings are now confident fliers. When I left for vacation the younger bird had trouble gaining altitude and stayed close to the cathedral. They’re now much better fliers and have increased their range considerably.

They’re growing up but it still looks like their parents are feeding them. Hunting practice should begin soon. I’m also beginning to wonder when they’ll be venturing off to Central Park for a visit to the North Woods?

July 11, 2006December 25, 2020Extralimital, Other Birds

Finland

I’ve just gotten back from ten days in Finland and Estonia. I spent most of my time with family, but couldn’t resist taking a few bird photographs.

ay. Imagine the work required of the parents, considering that a Finish summer day is 21 hours long.

June 29, 2006December 20, 2020St. John/Columbia Red-tailed Hawks

Wednesday Evening at the Cathedral

Both fledglings were on the Cathedral School when I arrived. Later one moved to a tree across Morningside Drive and the other moved to the scaffolding on the southern edge of the school.

Look, I can move my head 180 degrees upside down.

June 29, 2006December 20, 2020St. John/Columbia Red-tailed Hawks

Monday Evening at the Cathedral

The adult male on the Archangel Gabriel.

The adult female on a water tower with a Robin. The mother soon flew off and did circles above the southern grounds of the Cathedral.

Only one fledgling was spotted in Morningside Park, just inside the 110th and Morningside Drive entrance.

Will the fledglings be exploring Central Park by August?

June 25, 2006St. John/Columbia Red-tailed Hawks

Sex determination of Red-tailed Hawks

Kara C. Donohue and Alfred M. Dufty, Jr. wrote an excellent paper about using size measurements and weight to determine sex in Red-tailed Hawks, Sex determination of Red-tailed Hawks (Buteo jamaicensis calurus) using DNA analysis and morphometrics, J Field Ornithology, Vol 77, Issue 1, pp. 74-79.

This paper shows how hard it is to tell a Red-tail’s sex. I would caution anyone who thinks they can quickly tell a Red-tails sex by simple observation to think twice before declaring the sexes of our two Cathedral fledglings.

Update: This note sparked a discussion between Donna Browne and John Blakeman about this year’s fledglings sexes on Donna’s blog, palemaleirregulars. My comments above were to start a discussion about the sex variations beyond just height. I think Donna and John are exploring this very well on her blog.