I went to Riverside Park after the rain on Tuesday evening. It was wonderful to be the only one there for about 30 minutes. It was like watching the parents in the winter.
I found the parents first. They were together on the same street lamp, in the traffic island were last year's nest was located. They spent time preening and drying of from the rain.
I then found the fledglings near the river about a block south of the nest. A downy feather floating down from a tree gave them away. After about fifteen minutes, the mother joined the kids and they looked like they were going to roost by the river tonight.
We're finally having some nice weather. The two fledglings seem to be enjoying it. They were both very active this evening, as were the parents who were nearby.
The mother arrived with some food and eat part of it. She then gave it to one of the fledglings, who was getting frustrated with eating in a tree, and came down to the bushes to eat. It was a good idea, even if it was a little unsafe.
Tonight with Caroline's help, we got to see a rare summer glimpse of the Eastern Screech-Owl pair we had studied this winter and spring. The pair, which has an older female and a young male, certainly seems to have bonded. They engaged in head rubbing activity as part of their wake up activities this evening.
The pair was mobbed by American Robins, which allowed us to keep track of them after fly out. As night fell, and the Robins went to sleep, we were able to watch one of the owls bathe. Watching an Eastern Screech-Owl bathe is one of the hardest behaviors to observe, so all of us left the park with smiles on our faces.
Today both fledglings spent lots of time near a group of Robins near the Boat House Café. Both ended up getting mobbed at some point.
Both birds also spent time on the ground. The mother even dropped some food on the ground for one of the fledglings to eat. The youngsters played with sticks, explored the bushes and had a few play fights. The "action" was great fun to watch, although on a few occasions the birds ended up a little too close to the exit ramp of the highway making us a little nervous.
There were a few moments when passers by or hawk watchers would get too close to the fledglings, and today almost everyone was happy to take a few steps backwards to give the birds some breathing room. It was nice to see New Yorkers, after an explanation of how concerned we were that the birds not be "pushed" up to the highway, stay on the paths and kept their distance.
The fledglings are now flying up and down the strip of parkland around the nest, and doing lots of exploring on the ground. One of the fledglings ate leftovers that had been dropped on the ground. There was also a feeding by the mother, who stayed with a fledgling rather than just leaving the food. It was a nice day.
I visited the Riverside Nest in the late afternoon and early evening. Both youngsters were about a block south of the nest tree. One of the youngsters was sitting in a nest. Whose nest it was unclear, but thankfully it looked to be unused. The fledgling looked very happy to have found it.
The father arrived with a mouse, but seeing that both youngsters had been fed, ate it himself. I left just before a powerful storm wiped through the New York area. I managed to get a cab just in time to stay dry.
I need to comment on a post by Lincoln Karim which he posted on his website, www.palemale.com. He lashed out at the Urban Park rangers for failing to send the dead Riverside Park fledgling to Ward Stone's lab for testing. A necropsy was unnecessary, since the cause of death was clearly an auto accident. There is no reason to lash out at dedicated public employees and print their phone numbers, so they can be harassed by rabid hawk watchers.
Behind the scenes, the Urban Park Rangers, in association with concerned hawk watchers and New York City Audubon have come together this year to begin to address eyass and fledgling safety issues. The first document created by the group was an eyass safety document with protocols for handling emergencies.
I'm sure more work will come from the group, which has also started an informal network to report problems, and get volunteers to monitor nest locations. Already this season, members of the group have helped with rescues of Red-tails and American Kestrels.
They have also been helping monitor nest sites for rehabilitators, so that prematurely fledged birds can be returned to their parents. This included making sure that two fledglings could be reunited with their family at the Unisphere nest site.
Improving the lives of Red-tails and other hawks in New York will only happen, if we patiently work with city employees and agencies, non-profits like New York City Audubon and the Central Park Conservancy, and the network of Vets and Rehabbers who volunteer their services to bring birds back to good health. None of these organizations have any obligation to support Red-tailed hawks.
Hawk enthusiasts, rather than lashing out at organizations for what they aren't doing to help raptors in New York, should be asking what have they themselves done to support these organizations.
Have you volunteered your time, your talents, shared your experiences or provided financial assistance to these groups? If you haven't and you call yourself a hawk lover, why not?
The sun finally came out this afternoon and the nest site was much easier to photograph. One of the fledglings has become a really good flier and easily flies distances of one or two blocks. The father arrived this evening with a rodent, the mother bit the head off, and then delivered it to one of the fledglings. The pictures and video below contains some eating scenes. Viewer beware.
Marie Winn'sCentral Park in the Dark: More Mysteries of Urban Wildlife, her wonderful book about New York's great park at night is now available in paperback for only $15. It goes on sale today. For more information about the book, visit her publlisher's website at: www.picadorusa.com/centralparkinthedark
The book has received great praise:
"Central Park in the Dark is a delight; I'd follow Winn into the park at any hour."--The New York Times Book Review
"A delightful chronicle of the animals that come out to hunt and play in the park at night . . . conveys the magic and enduring mysteries of Central Park."--Michiko Kakutani, The New York Times
"Winn is an engaging writer, making us care about the evening denizens of the park (human or otherwise)."--Booklist
"Winn's book is a revelation. . . . A worthy addition to any nature lover’s shelf."--Buffalo News
"Exuberantly illuminates Central Park’s vibrant 843-acre nocturnal world."--Kirkus Reviews
"From screech owl rescues to slug sex, Winn pulls the reader into this tight-knit circle of people all searching for the same thing: a glimpse of nature in the midst of the hustle and bustle of the city."--The Christian Science Monitor
I photographed the owl on the jacket in 2008. For my blog entries about owls over the last few years, click on any of the Eastern Screech-Owl Blogs links on the upper left hand corner of this blog.
It was a quiet evening with one fledgling exploring the nest tree and the other moving between trees. Both parents were around but didn't spend much time near either fledgling. The kids were quiet, so I suspect they had been fed earlier in the day.
The late afternoon at Riverside Park was crowded with inexperienced birders who harassed the birds by being too noisy, too close or acting like paparazzi.
These birds need to be given room to grow up without intentional or careless intervention. Nature knows what it's doing. Let it work.
The fledglings were very active, as were their parents on Sunday morning. Food was brought by both parents One of the fledglings is a capable flier, while its sibling is still more a an advanced brancher.
It was happy to be back at the nest, although it was a difficult day, as I was asked "Where is the third baby" about twenty times. I had to relay the bad news and console too many people today.
One of the three fledgling died after being hit by traffic. The fledgling was found dead with a rat in its tallons, possibly its first kill and may have misjudged flying with the added weight. The hawk's body was recovered by the Urban Park Rangers, who are sending it to the DOH for testing.
I'm in Avignon getting ready to start a bike trip in Provence.
I got a nice report about Saturday's Riverside activities from Jean Dane.
"I didn't get there til 6:30, but others reported not much action before that – parents didn't feed all day, 2 still in nest, little explorer still doing a little exploring. Some really spiffy flying-hops while I was there – nice landings – and he likes to balance on that little sharp point that's in the clear.
Right after we packed up to leave, bit after 8: one parent arrived with squirrel, poked around in nest for a minute or so and then flew away again, taking squirrel. Then we had both parents flying circles, perching in nearby trees with squirrel bits and flying away again – "you want it? come get it." It was too dark, starting to rain again, so we left, but it was a nice way to end."
The brancher, came off the nest for a few hours today. The time off the nest included some time on the ground. It then returned to the nest in the mid-afternoon and took a nap!
I suspect the weekend will be full of fun activities. Please be careful around the fledglings. I saw many birders get too close to the fledgling. As calm as a fledgling may look, they're easily spooked. Once startled, they don't have enough experience or flying ability to go to a safe, high spot. They can easily end up in a bike path or road.
The general precautions include:
Giving a new fledgling about 50-100 feet of space.
If there is a group of hawk watchers, don't spread out and surround the bird.
Don't block the "safe exits". If you do, you'll end up moving a bird towards a highway or the water.
If someone asks you to move, don't be stubborn. Take their advice and if you think they were being overly careful, calmly discuss the issue once you're away from the bird.
Error on the side of caution. The bird's welfare is more important than your view or photograph.
If you are trying to take a picture with a standard point and shoot camera or a cell phone, you're too close.
I'm flying off to Paris tonight. I can't wait to come back next week and see how our youngsters are doing. Please feel free to email me your observations while I'm away.
The most active of the eyasses wondered around different branches of the nest today. It was so much fun to watch. After watching three eyasses in a nest for weeks, it was great to see one exploring the tree. Fledging can't be far away.
There has started to be discussion about which eyasses are boys and which are girls around the nest site among the hawk watchers. At this stage it's really hard to tell. Just like 11 and 12 year old girls who are likely to be taller than boys in their class, young male hawks can be bigger that young female hawks while they're grow up.
It's usually a good idea to wait a month or two after fledging to start comparing sizes and begin making guesses about the sex of the fledglings. The guesses will be just that, guesses. There is some overlap between size of Red-tails of each sex. There are big boys and small girls.
Jumping up on branches is usually a precursor to fledging and tonight we saw some nice high hops up to higher perches. I'm going away on Friday for ten days, so I hope at least one of them fledges before I go.
I only have about thirty minutes to spend at the Riverside Park nest this evening. While I was there both parents were close to the nest and the eyasses were fairly relaxed. I heard from other hawk watchers that the eyasses had been active earlier in the day.
The father seems to be spending much more time around the nest than a week ago. The mother also seems to be keeping a closer eye on them. I suspect that they also know that the fledge window started today and lasts through the weekend.
The parents were both close to the nest tonight and had their hands full with a pair of Blue Jays. The adult male, who spends time near the Boat Basin Café has been difficult for me to find when he goes south. But tonight the Blue Jays made it easy to find him. I suspect these Blue Jays will help us find the fledglings in a few days!
The kids relaxed and rested, with brief spurts of activity. One of them found a new perch on the south side of the nest. I didn't see any feedings tonight, but I suspect the eyasses were fed before I arrived. The fledge window starts tomorrow. I suspect we'll have at least one of the eyasses fledging by Friday.
If you thought watching hawks on a nest was fun, wait until you get to watch young fledglings. You haven't seen anything yet!
Nothing much new is happening at the Riverside nest. It's a countdown to fledge day. The only thing that seems to be changing, beyond the continued grown of the eyasses, is the number of people watching the hawks. It seems to grow every day.
The fledge window calculated as June 9th - June 13th based on their hatch date, but I suspect from their development that the date is a few days later, say June 11th -15th. It will be interested to see what happens. The eyasses seem very healthy.
On Saturday, while collecting branches to line the nest with, the mother got harassed by some Blue Jays. No harm was done to either species, but I got some nice photographs.
The three eyasses looked great on my Saturday visit to the nest. The nest is on a drain pipe on the Astoria, Queens side of the bridge. On my visit I didn't see the parents, but I also didn't stay long. It's not uncommon for a nest to be left unattended for long periods once the eyasses get close to fledging.
Earlier this week arrived news from Bobby Horvath, the rehabilitator on Long Island, that an eyass had fallen out of the Unisphere. The bird was taken to the Queens Zoo across the highway, checked out just fine, and ended up with in the Horvath's care.
The Unisphere nest has a history of having eyasses and fledglings in
trouble. The Unisphere's metal construction makes it difficult for a
bird to "branch" and there have been birds that fall out of the nest
prematurely in previous years. The park itself is a problem for new
fledglings, as it doesn't have very many quiet areas for the parents to
lure them to.
Photo: Bobby Horvath
The Hovarths continues to perform a great service for birds and wildlife in New York City. If you're a NYC Raptor lover, I can think of no better donation then to help their organization. If you’d like to make a monetary donation, checks can be made out to “Wildlife in Need of Rescue and Rehabilitation” and sent to:
WINORR, Inc. 202 N. Wyoming Avenue North Massapequa, NY 11578
Since I hadn't been out to the nest since earlier in the season, I went out on Saturday to see how things had progressed at the nest.
When I arrived a parent was on the New York State Pavilion Towers and a visible eyass on the nest. About fifteen minutes later, I saw a wing tip briefly from an I-beam of the Unisphere, three sections over from the nest. So, the nest must have started three chicks, two still on the Unisphere and one now with the Horvaths.
Sunday Update: A second eyass fledged prematurely at the Unisphere and it is also now in the care of the Horvaths.
These hawks are growing up fast and should be leaving the nest in the next week. Tonight, I arrived after the eyasses had eaten and they slept for most of the early evening. But they did spend 15 minutes energetically flapping and jumping around the nest.
I learned that the female Red-tailed Hawk went after another off-leash, squirrel chasing, dog this week. I'm not sure if she is claiming the squirrels as her prey or warning the dogs not to hunt in the area so as to protect her future fledglings. In any case, she ignores humans and dogs on leash, so for the safety of both the dogs and the hawks, it really would be helpful if dogs were kept on leash in the area north of the Boat Basin and west of the Highway for the next few weeks.
The Riverside Park nest had lots of activity this evening. All three eyasses were active, the father made two food deliveries, the mother helped tear up a squirrel and the sun came out after a brief shower.
The wing feathers are growing in fast. Incredibly fast. They are looking different from day to day.
Tonight was quiet at the Riverside Park nest, except for a brief period where both the adult female hawk and an off-leash dog went after the same squirrel. The hawk was not very happy and kept an eye on the dog from a branch above the dog. While returning to the nest for the evening, the mother swooped down near the dog to give him a message to stay away.
If my past observations of birds are correct, birds seem to "clean up the neighborhood" in the week before fledging. Two years ago, in Green-Wood Cemetery, the Red-tailed Hawk father got rid of four aggressive Northern Mockingbirds before the kids fledged. Similar behavior happened with the Eastern-Screech Owls in the North Woods of Central Park, who attacked neighboring raccoons just before their owlets fledged.
Hawks and dogs rarely interact, but it would be helpful if dog owners kept their dogs on leash while visiting the boat basin for the next month. There is not reason to tempt fate. Plus, there are two great dog runs just to the north and south of the Boat Basin were dogs can be off leash all day.
