A week after they fledged, I had a chance to see the two fledglings. Mellow was the theme. Both hawks were just hanging out and relaxing more most of the time I was with them. Both parents made visits and food was left on the nest. The youngest fledging ate for a bit and the mother ate leftovers.
It should be a fun summer watching these two learn to hunt and fend for themselves.
On Tuesday around 7:30 pm, the first of the two eyasses fledged. So, I went to the nest on Wednesday to see what was up.
A group of us searched for the fledgling, but came up empty at first. There was still a bird on the nest and the mother was nearby. The male delivered food to the nest, and the fledgling returned to the nest tree. It was a few feet below the nest.
The yet to fledge bird ate, and then the mother ate some of the leftovers, before taking them to a nearby tree.
The yet to fledge bird did lots of branching at this point, and Stella Hamilton found the fledgling in a tree at the north end of the Locust Grove. While we were watching the fledgling, the eyass on the nest tree, flew to the next tree. It was enough of a trip, that folks though it counted as a fledge.
The next two months should be fun watching these two youngsters. It will be interesting to see where the parents take them. The Great Lawn, the Pinetum, or Summit Rock?
I was successful on my second visit after my trip to see the Peregrine Falcon fledglings. I caught up with at least three of them and the adult female.
At first, it was tough to find them, but as I explored I saw them in various places. They’re covering a wider area, going up and down West End Avenue, as well as 86th Street and Broadway. One of them got harassed by a Northern Mockingbird at 88th and West End.
Later in the day two fledglings got fed on the church. Locals told me the action happens early in the morning and after 5:00 pm.
I spent a week in the Arctic cruising around the Svalbard islands of Norway, in late June. One two days, we had the good fortune to watch an adult female and her two cubs. One the first day, they explored a small island eating Barnacle Goose eggs. On the second day, they were eating Minke Whale meat.
It was a wonderful experience seen from the safety of a Zodiac boat.
The Pinetum Nest still hasn’t fledged. I caught up with the two eyasses, soon to be fledglings, this afternoon.
Update: At 7:30 on 6/28/22, one of the eyasses fledged.
I’m back from Norway and visited three Peregrine and Red-tailed Hawk nesting areas on the Upper West Side and around Columbia University on Friday.
Visits to the two Peregrine nesting areas, at 86th & West End Avenue and Riverside Church only resulted in seeing one adult Peregrine Falcon on Riverside Church. (I missed seeing the fledglings at the church when I was away.)
The Columbia College nest on John Jay had problems while I was away. One fledgling was on the ground and spend a day at the Wild Bird Fund before being returned, and one eyass passed away according to a Columbia University employee.
In New York City, we have nests at some sites that have difficulties due to Frounce in the pigeon populations and others that have problems with lead poisoning from the food chain.
The St. John the Divine nest has had serious problems with lead over the last few years. Given the problems this year at John Jay, I would suspect that these problems have carried over to the new location only a few blocks away from the Cathedral.
I did find the surviving fledgling on the northeast chimney of Hamilton Hall, who then flew to the roof of Kent Hall. It spent time calling for a parent, who given the direction the fledgling was looking at might have been on Mount Sinai Morningside Hospital.
