Urban Hawks

Central Park South

The southern part of Central Park has been a mystery this year.  Sightings of two new hawks, plus Pale Male and Octavia in the southern part of the park have made it difficult to figure out what's going on.

While I didn't believe it at first, was there is strong evidence that Octavia may have been spending time with both males, so we may have had only three hawks.

Since Octavia has begun sitting on the nest uptown, observers have only seen a single hawk down at Central Park South.  So, the question I've been trying to answer is does this hawk have a brooding mate in a nest we haven't found or was what we assumed to be two pairs in late February and early March actually just three hawks?

I didn't discover the answer on Wednesday but had fun trying!

Central Park Hawks

Today was a nice day in Central Park.  I had the two Red-tailed hawks trying to establish a nest on CPW, (now working on a nest on 322 CPW.)  Then a juvenile Red-tailed Hawk on the American Museum of Natural History followed by Sharp-shinned Hawk in the Evodia Field. 

My next stop was Fifth Avenue, where Octavia is now brooding.  Pale Male was tending to the nest (rearranging twigs as is his habit) and she returned to the nest.

A quick walk down to Central Park South uncovered one Red-tailed hawk there. Seven hawks, not too bad for a brief afternoon visit to the park.

Plaza Hotel Pair

There looks to be some question as to whether the Plaza Hotel pair might be Pale Male and Octavia building a secondary nest. 

Looking at the photographs I've taken over the last two days, these look like a new pair to my eyes. Both the male and female look different than Pale Male and Octavia.

(Certainly, this pair has ventured up to Pale Male's territory over the last few weeks and it might be one of the Central Park South hawks that was mistaken for Octavia up north.  This would explain matching field marks.)

The Plaza Hotel pair also have a nest on the Crown Building.  It is in a better location from the Plaza, but sadly out of view from the street.  I hope they nest on the Plaza, but if they don't we won't be able to see the eyasses for some time.

Hanky Panky On The Plaza

The Central Park South pair copulated on the Plaza Hotel late this afternoon.  The female was about twenty feet from the nest, and the male flew in and copulated with her.  He quickly left and flew due west.  She followed at dusk about twenty minutes later.  I walked over in the general direction they flew, but didn't find either of the hawk's roosts for the evening.

The Plaza Hotel - A New Red-tailed Nest

The Roger Paw Blog reported on January 9th that a new Red-tailed Hawk nest is being established on The Plaza Hotel at Central Park South. 

This evening, at dusk while I was watching two Black Crowned Night Herons (one adult and one immature), and hundreds of Common Grackles come home to roost, I saw one the Red-tails at the nest site.  The Red-tailed Hawk stayed on the nest for about ten minutes and then went off to roost.

Hats off to the Roger Paw Blog for such excellent reporting!  Finding a new nest site, this early in the season, is hard work.

Two Hawk Mothers

Lola and Charlotte are the nicknames given two female hawks around Central Park who have been mothers in the past.   Both hawks were getting ready for the next nesting season on Sunday

Lola, the lighter of the two hawks, was busy soaring around the Fifth Avenue nest and working on tidying it up.  She will most likely lay eggs mid-March.

Charlotte, who nests at 888 Seventh Avenue, was seen eating a pigeon and chasing of a juvenile hawk up at the Sheep Meadow.  She generally lays eggs a few weeks after Lola.

Both females have had nesting issues these last few years.  May they both have a successful year in 2010.

Manhattan Nests

From north to south, we have the following confirmed nesting sites in Manhattan this year:  Inwood Hill Park, Highbridge Park (back to the old location, which should be safer than last year's location), Lower Riverside Park (also in a new and safer location), Fifth Avenue and 888 Seventh Avenue.  I visited all of them this weekend.  They all seem to be in good shape, with chicks expected within the next few weeks.

Some nests have changed from last year. 

There is no sign of a nest below 14th Street, although there have been reports of hawks downtown all winter, including Tompkins Square Park, the World Trade Center construction site, the Court Houses around Center Street, Seward Park, Washington Square Park and the Greenway.

Last year's nest on Houston Street is not being used again this year.  The male from last year's nest died of Fronce and while hawks have been seen on the Lower East Side all winter, no signs of a new nest has been found.

The St. John the Divine's pair have both been seen recently but further uptown.  Construction continues on the church and they may have moved but no one has found a new nest location.  This one is a real mystery.

The Shepard Hall, City College nest looks bigger according to reports, but nest looks unoccupied.  The hawks may be nesting somewhere nearby.

Here are pictures of four nests from this weekend:

Inwood Hill Park

Riverside and Broadway

I spent the early afternoon looking at the Riverside Red-tailed Hawk pair on Saturday.  There nest is just off the Hudson River near 8st Street and looks great.  Last year they laid eggs around mid-March, so the female should start sitting on the nest soon.

Other nests in Manhattan are doing well.  Inwood Hill Park, Highbridge Park, St. John the Divine and 5th Avenue nests are doing fine.  The Highbridge nest is back to its old spot.

The Central Park South pair is still there but I don't have any details about their nest.  The Houston female lost her mate last year, and may be nesting on the ConEd plant around 14th Street.  The pair that was around the City College campus remains a mystery.

Sightings of hawks this winter around the north end of Riverside Park and around the Court House buildings on Center Street make these locations possibilities for new nests this year.

When leaving Riverside Park, check out the American Kestrels that have a scrape at 80th and Broadway.  One of them is usually on the building south of Zabar's or on the church at 79th and Broadway.

Young vs. Established

The young hawk I had seen yesterday was in the same general area today.  I first saw it around the playgrounds north of Tavern on the Green, and then on a C.P.W. building around 68th Street.   Then it took off towards the Heckscher Ball Fields.  When I caught up with the hawk, it had just finished up eating and was cleaning its beak.

Then I spotted Charlotte, the female hawk from Central Park South, on one of the Ball Fields.  She took off towards the young hawk's tree with some prey.

The young hawk left, but ended up moving to a number of trees around the Ball Fields as Charlotte ate.  I could not figure out all of the dynamics, but something was surely going on between the two of them.

Annus Horribilis

As this year's Manhattan Red-tailed Hawk nesting season comes to an end, it must be said this seems to be the worst year for Red-tails in the borough in recent memory.  It really was an "Annus Horribilis".

Here's the current status of Manhattan's known nesting pairs:

• Houston Street - This nest ended up being "too urban", with each fledgling being picked up by animal control or the police. 
  
  The father was recently picked up as well after being found grounded.  He died this weekend from frounce, a disease picked up from eating infected pigeons.
  
  The first to be picked up has been returned to Astoria Park, and is in the "foster care" of the Triborough Bridge parents.  The parents have accepted the fledgling, but there is now a chance the bird has frounce.  It is being monitored by two dedicated Astoria hawk watchers, Jules and Peter. (Update: 7-4-08, the Houston fledgling does have frounce, which was detected on 7-2-08.  It took until 7-4-08 to find and capture the bird.)
  
  The two other fledglings are still with the rehabilitator Bobby Horvath and are being treated for frounce.  Their prognosis is good, but frounce can be a killer even with treatment.  (Update: 7-2-08, Sad news, one of these two fledgling has died from frounce.)

• 888 Seventh Avenue - There was no sign of nesting this year.

• Fifth Avenue - Despite repairs to their nest cradle, Pale Male and Lola did not produce any offspring this year.

• 81st and Riverside - Three eyasses died due to secondary poisoning from eating poisoned rodents.  Necropsy results have not been finalized, but all three eyasses tested positive for two types of anti-coagulant rodenticide, brodifacoum and bromodiolone.

• Cathedral Church of St. John the Divine -  The original adult male died earlier this year and was replaced with a new younger male.  There were two fledglings, one of which developed lead poisoning and has a lame foot, and is in rehab.

• Shepard Hall, City College - There was no sign of nesting this year.  Red-tails sometimes build multiple nests, choosing one at the last minute.  However, despite repeated efforts to follow the parents, alternative sites were not discovered.

• Highbridge Park -  Two eyasses died at about two weeks of age, reasons unknown.

• Inwood Hill Park - Two or three eyasses depending on reporters. Two fledglings seen in the park.

So, it's been a horrible year.  We've had two adults die, and numerous eyasses and fledglings be poisoned, injured or infected. 

5-27-08 Manhattan Red-tailed Hawk Nest Update

Of the eight known nests in Manhattan, here's their status this week (changes in italics)...

5th Avenue, nest failure.  NYC Audubon is coordinating with the building to retrieve the eggs for testing when they do their window washing.

888 Seventh Avenue, uncertain.

St. John the Divine, two eyasses visible. 

Highbridge Park, nest abandoned, two eyasses presumed to have died at about two weeks of age, reasons unkown.  Robert Schmunk, James O'Brien and I have all spent time up at the nest over the last week and it has been abandoned.  James O'Brien discovered the pair mating this weekend, so we've all agreed the nest has failed.

Inwood Hill Park, two or three eyasses depending on reporters.  Nest is now surrounded by green leaves making it difficult to observe.

South Riverside Park,.  Parents have built a new nest.  It is uncertain if they will lay eggs this year, or wait until next spring.  Toxicology reports due for the second and third eyasses soon. 

Houston Street, three eyasses. 

Shepard Hall, City College, nest is too difficult to observe to be sure.  Update 5/28: I had confused a note from James O'Brien about where copulation had occurred.  It was at Highbridge, not City College.  So, behavior still makes the nest look active with hatched eggs, however there has yet to be a sighting of an eyas.

Of the eight known nests in Manhattan, here's their status this week (changes in italics)...

5th Avenue, nest failure.  NYC Audubon is coordinating with the building to retrieve the eggs for testing when they do their window washing.

888 Seventh Avenue, uncertain.

St. John the Divine, two eyasses visible. 

Highbridge Park, nest abandoned, two eyasses presumed to have died at about two weeks of age, reasons unkown.  Robert Schmunk, James O'Brien and I have all spent time up at the nest over the last week and it has been abandoned.  James O'Brien discovered the pair mating this weekend, so we've all agreed the nest has failed.

Inwood Hill Park, two or three eyasses depending on reporters.  Nest is now surrounded by green leaves making it difficult to observe.

South Riverside Park,.  Parents have built a new nest.  It is uncertain if they will lay eggs this year, or wait until next spring.  Toxicology reports due for the second and third eyasses soon. 

Houston Street, three eyasses. 

Shepard Hall, City College, nest is too difficult to observe to be sure.  Update 5/28: I had confused a note from James O'Brien about where copulation had occurred.  It was at Highbridge, not City College.  So, behavior still makes the nest look active with hatched eggs, however there has yet to be a sighting of an eyas.

Manhattan Hawk Nest Update

Of the eight known nests in Manhattan, here's their status this week...

5th Avenue, nest failure.  Lola has stopped sitting on the eggs.

888 Seventh Avenue, uncertain.

St. John the Divine, feeding behavior has started, but no eyasses visible, which isn't unusual for this nest.

Highbridge Park, two eyasses

Inwood Hill Park, three eyasses

South Riverside Park, death of three chicks.   (Updated: 5-13-08.  The necrospy at the DEC Pathology unit of one of the chicks showed acute hemorrhaging of the lungs.  This discovery makes secondary poisoning the most likely cause of death, although hypothermia is still a posibility.  Further tests will be carried out to try and identify the anticoagulant or other possible toxins.  Thank you, Lincoln Karim, for taking the chick up to Dr. Stone's lab.)

Houston Street, three eyasses.

Shepard Hall, City College, nest is too difficult to observe to be sure.

Manhattan Hawk Nest Update

Of the eight known nests in Manhattan, here's their status this week...

5th Avenue, nest failure.

888 Seventh Avenue, dirty windows are making observations difficult.
4/29/08 Update from Brett. He doesn't believe they are using 888 Seventh Avenue to nest this year, or at least not yet. (1)

St. John the Divine, feeding behavior has not started, so guesses are the female is still brooding.

Highbridge Park, eggs hatched based on feeding behavior.  Number of eyasses, at least two.  (2)

Inwood Hill Park, eggs hatched and chick sighted. Number of eyasses unknown. (2)

South Riverside Park, eggs hatched and two chick sighted. (3)

Houston Street, at least one egg has hatched out of three eggs. (4)

Shepard Hall, City College, female appears to still be brooding, but nest is difficult to observe.

(1) Brett Odom
(2) Robert Schmunk, Bloomingdale Village Blog
(3) Donna Browne, Pale Male Irregulars Blog
(4) Lincoln Karim, www.palemale.com

Highbridge Nest Rediscovered and General Update

Glenn Alvarez wrote me on Friday to say that he had found the new location of the Highbridge Park nest.  I went up and saw it on Saturday.  It looks to be in a great new location.

Of the eight known nests in Manhattan, here's their status this week...

5th Avenue, Lola sitting on the eggs.

888 Seventh Avenue, Lots of mating and twigging. Not sure if brooding has started.

St. John the Divine, Not sitting yet.

Highbridge Park, New nest location.  Female sitting on eggs.

Inwood Hill Park, New nest location.  Female sitting on eggs.

South Riverside Park, Female sitting on eggs.

Houston Street, Female sitting on eggs.  The male picked up earlier in the month downtown, turns out NOT to be from this nest.

Shepard Hall, City College, New nest.  Not sure of status.

And in the Bronx, Chris Lyons reports Rose is sitting on the Fordham University nest.

St. John's, Riverside and 888 Seventh Avenue Updates

The Cathedral of St. John as started a waterproofing project and put up scaffolding all around the nest.  While the work will be away from the nest, it is close by.  The timing of this project couldn't be worse, with egg laying in mid-March and hatching in April.  It will be interesting to watch this situation develop.  I'm afraid that the hawks might end up attaching workers if they get too close to an active nest later in the Spring.

James O'Brien has more photographs of the St. John's scaffolding, as well as news of similar repairs on Riverside Church on his blog.

I've also gotten news of the 888 Seventh Avenue nest from Brett Odom, who has a view of the nest from his office.

"I just wanted to let you know that while I have not witnessed any copulation activities between Junior and Charlotte.  I can confirm that they have greatly increased their visits to the 888 7th Ave. nest site.  Until the last several days I could go weeks between sightings, but recently I have seen them visit the nest several times a day."

The Whole Family

On Monday evening, the 888 Seventh Avenue family was located around the Mall (a long walkway with American Elms and statues of famous writers) in Central Park.  The juvenile was begging for food, but you could tell her parents knew she was already doing just fine hunting on her own. 

The female and the male were in the same tree when I saw them.  She's on the left and he's on the right.

The male, who had gotten tangled in some pigeon spikes on Central Park South on Saturday, looked just fine which was excellent news.

The juvenile came into a nearby tree.

The juvenile then moved to a street light at the northeast corner of the Sheep Meadow.

It begged for a few minutes.  But it's too old for its parents to be feeding her, so her requests fell on deaf ears.

She circled around the area and end up on a street lamp across the street from the one she had been on.

Her father was in a nearby tree.

He flew off.  By this time, it was too dark to keep tracking them.

She's Back

The 888 juvenile was back in Central Park on Sunday.  She was first discovered in Columbus Circle and then went on a hunting trip catching two mice and keeping three photographers on their toes as she flew around the park.  She's no longer staying in one place, but enjoys moving around.

I missed seeing her in Columbus Circle, but caught up to her as she flew to the southwest corner of the park.

She moved east.

Her band number allows me to be sure it's the 888 juvenile.

She's off again, moving to a tree by the Pond and then back west to a tree near Cop Cot.

She then catches a small mouse by the wall on Central Park South, just across the street from the Essex House.

She makes quick work of this snack sized mouse.

Then it's off to an area just north of the South Drive around Seventh Avenue.

She has what looks to be some food, possibly something she's cached.

Then a small war begins.  This squirrel whose den is at the end of the tree, decides to protect its branch.

The squirrel is amazingly aggressive.  The squirrel tries to bite the juvenile, so she flies off quickly but then returns to the tree branch.

So, this is why you're worried.

After a stand off, the squirrel come out again.

This stand off ended in an amazing way.  The juvenile dropped from the tree to catch a mouse.  How it kept track of the squirrel and the mouse at the same time, I'll never know.

It caught the mouse, even while being distracted by the squirrel.

After finishing her meal, she was off again.

By this time, I felt like I had been run around the park too much and gave up on tracking her.  It's nice to have her back.

888 Adults High Up On CNN Sign and 15 CPW

The 888 Seventh Avenue pair were on the CNN sign and 15 Central Park West late this evening.  (I didn't stick around to see where they roosted for the night.)  No sign of any juvenile birds today.

888 Seventh Avenue Adults

The 888 fledgling hasn't been seen for a few days, but its parents have been around their normal hunts.  On Monday night they were on top of 15 Central Park West looking into expensive apartments and then roosting for the night.

The adult female.

The adult male.

The adult female who moves from her perch to the workman's elevator rigging, and then to...

her roost for the night.  She's on the left and the male on the right.

Saturday Hawks

Saturday Hawk watching started at the Beresford.

Lola was to the left of her normal perch on the window.  I then made it to the southwestern tip of the park.

The female adult of the 888 Seventh Avenue pair was on the north tower of the Time-Warner building.

and her mate was just inside the park.

The 888 Seventh Avenue adult male.

The 888 Seventh Avenue adult male.

The 888 Seventh Avenue adult male.

The female comes down to join him and ends up catching a small mouse.

The 888 Seventh Avenue adult female.

The 888 Seventh Avenue adult female.

The 888 Seventh Avenue adult female.  No high roosts tonight.  They slept in trees near Columbus Circle.

Between Thunderstorms

Thanks to a call from Lincoln Karim, I got to photograph the 888 fledgling who is now very, very difficult to find.  It has been raining, so her coloring is more intense than usual.

Global Domination Continues

After the discovery of the Red-tailed Hawk nest on the Unisphere in Queens, I thought global domination by Red-tails was over for the season.  But the adult male of the 888 Seventh Avenue nest proved me wrong.  He perched on the replica of the Unisphere outside the Trump International Hotel and Tower on Tuesday evening, just outside the park at 60th and Central Park West.

One Less Rodent In The Park

The 888 Seventh Avenue fledgling is doing great.  She's now a quite capable hunter.  On Tuesday evening, she captured a large rodent and put on show for the tourists at the south of the park.

She's becoming much harder to find, a sign of her increasing independence.  I won't be surprised if she leaves the park soon to begin her life's adventure away from her parents. I'll miss her, but will be happy knowing that Central Park has been a safe haven for yet another Red-tail youngster.

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.

The hawks settle in for the night.

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!

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?

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...

heading north into the park.

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.

The 888 fledgling enjoying the meal.

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.

Least Sandpiper

Spotted Sandpiper

Cedar Waxwing.

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

888 Seventh Avenue Mother

I went looking for the 888 Seventh Avenue fledgling this afternoon, but found her mother instead.  She was at the northwest corner of the Sheep Meadow in Central Park around 67th near Tavern on the Green.

She was being scolded by a group of Robins, who helped me find her.

The adult hawk flew off out of sight.  While looking for her, I found this raccoon sleeping just north of Tavern on the Green.  Does it dream of the goodies in the dumpsters nearby?

Internship at Time-Warner

I found the 888 fledgling flying west on 58th Street today, and then landing on the Time-Warner building in Columbus Circle.  Her flying skills have really improved.  This perch is about ten stories high.

A Mockingbird quickly arrived to harass the Red-tail.

The Mockingbird gave up after a few minutes.

After about 45 minutes, the fledgling glided down to Columbus Circle with talons down, into the flower beds near the fountain.  It came up empty and...

...flew up to a traffic light.

It stayed for about a minute and returned to the park, quickly making its way north for the night.

On The Fence

After a few days of difficulty finding the 888 Seventh Avenue fledgling, she was found with her father near the 67th Street Playground, which is just off Central Park West.

The father, whose been giving hunting lessons.

Another shot of the father.

The 888 Seventh Avenue fledgling near the two Lawn Bowling greens.

Her attention was focused on something.  There is a gutter around the greens.  I wonder if there is a family of rodents there?

She made some small hops and moved up and down the fence.

Lincoln Karim and I were shooting from opposite sides, and both managed to get blurry pictures of each other.  (Although our pictures might make us look like we're close to the fledgling, we both kept a safe distance.  Our telephoto lenses flatten the depth of field.)

It's amazing the number of quiet fenced in areas the fledgling finds.  Here she is on the vacant bowling greens.

A bit blurry, but a nice shot to see her feather detail.

The father had stayed put, and the fledgling returned to be with him.  He showed her a Robin's nest.

Which she jumped on and after a bit followed her father south.

Now you know why Robins and Blue Jays are so bold in attacking Red-tails.