Eurasian Eagle-Owl, Owls

Eurasian Eagle-Owl, Night 51

I didn’t have a chance to see Flaco during the day. After dinner, I went to Central Park to see if I could find him. He had spent much of the early evening in the construction site, and a few individuals who had watched him had lost track of him by the time I arrived. We searched and searched, and finally due to his hooting, we found him. He was in a tree at the northern end of the construction site with a view of the Harlem Meer.

We lost track of him again as he returned to the center of the construction site. Almost giving up on him, I heard noises in a tree at Nutter’s Battery, which overlooks the Harlem Meer. He had landed oddly and was working to get to a better branch. He then flew to a nearby tree and began hooting. The sound carried to the north shore of the Harlem Meer, where intoxicated New Yorkers cutting through the park on their way home, hooted back every few minutes.

After about fifteen minutes, he moved to a tree fifty feet to the east and continued hooting. I stayed with him for about twenty minutes, but it was now past midnight so I called it a night.

Eurasian Eagle-Owl, Owls

Eurasian Eagle-Owl, Day 49

There are nights when you loose an owl after fly out in a few minutes and nights where you can stay with an owl for a few hours. Tonight, I was able to track Flaco until about 9:45 pm. He hadn’t been paying attention to me, but around 9:30 pm he started staring at me. Not wanting to interfere with his hunting, I decided it was time to go home, just to be on the safe side.

Eurasian Eagle-Owl, Owls

Eurasian Eagle-Owl, Day 50

The rain held off on Thursday afternoon and evening, so I was able to spend about seven hours with him. He seems to explore his territory for about an hour before settling down. Last night, he patiently sat on the ground for hours. I suspect that with the abundant rodent population of the park, he can spend a lot of time just “hanging out”.

After fly out he spent time in the construction site before heading south.

TCC/MCNY Red-tailed Hawks

Museum of the City of New York Red-tailed Hawk Nest

The Terrence Cardinal Cooke Red-tailed Hawk pair have moved their nest to the Museum of the City of New York Red-tailed Hawk Nest at 1220 Fifth Avenue at 103rd Street. It is tucked into the southern corner of the southern pediment of the building on the Fifth Avenue (western) side.

Red-tailed Hawks can make an alternate nest and then choose to use another site at the last minute, but this looks to be the one they will use in 2023. The female should begin using the nest soon.

San Remo/Pinetum/AMNH Red-tailed Hawks

Pinetum Red-tailed Hawk Nest

I wasn’t able to photograph the activity at the nest, but was able to watch the San Remo/Pinetum pair copulate on The Beresford, and bring nesting material to the nest on Monday afternoon. It looks like they are on track to nest again. It’s good news as folks had seen a raccoon sleeping in the nest a few months ago and there was some tentative nest building on the San Remo in January.

The open question is what is happening in the north end of the park. I saw two Red-tails over The Pool engaged in a courtship flight, but haven’t seen where they are nesting. Hopefully, the North End Birders will find it.

Update: I just heard from John Baisley, an Urban Park Ranger, that the Terrence Cardinal Cooke pair has moved their nest two blocks south to the southern end of the Museum of the City of New York building.