Urban Hawks

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.

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. 

Friday The Thirteenth

The final Houston Street fledge occurred on Friday the thirteenth.  It started out with a mid-afternoon fledge, followed by the usual struggle to find the fledgling, who ended up being just across Houston street.  The young fledgling was doing well hopping from branch to branch.

In the early evening, the parents arrived with the father quickly leaving.  The mother then took a rodent and flew back and forth along the top of the school, stopping on drain pipes and air conditioners to attract the fledgling back to the school.  The fledgling soon took the hint to come north back to the school flying over Houston Street.

The fledgling crossed the road, but couldn't gain any height nor could it find a landing spot on the school.  It tired to grab the corner of the building but it ended up gliding into the street.  Luckily, we had two quick thinking hawk watchers at the site.  Edwin who stopped traffic and Adam who picked up the bird.

Then it got difficult.  A crowd had formed and followed Adam Welz, who had picked up the hawk.  Luckily, Adam has experience with raptors where he lives in South Africa.

He needed a safe space to release the hawk, but people were crowding him and touching the hawk upsetting it.  He couldn't release it on the ground, and had nowhere to put it.  As I went to get a cardboard box, a housing authority policeman came and took the hawk away in an animal carrier.

This nest is surely at a difficult site.  Let's hope the policeman took the hawk to a proper facility and it gets to a rehabilitator, who can return it to the site.

As dusk fell, the mother stayed on a lamp post looking for her fledgling until it got dark, and she roosted in a nearby tree for the evening.

Update: The bird is safely with its siblings, in Bobby Horvath's care.

One Youngster On The Nest

Two fledglings have left the Houston Street nest and one remains.  This afternoon the mother was helping to shade the last youngster from the sun.  Hopefully, it will not be in any hurry to leave.

After about half an hour, the mother moved to an adjacent air conditioner cover.

Science Not Emotion

Lincoln Karim has posted a libelous attack of Bobby Horvath, on his website, www.palemale.com about Mr. Horvath's decision to delay the return of the first fledgling of the Lower East Side nest to the site. 

Mr. Karim paints a picture of a young hawk being tortured in captivity, as if it had been sent to Guantanamo Bay.  He states that a standard identification band was illegally placed on the bird and that Mr. Hovarth's decision to delay the bird's return to the site after bring it back on Monday was some premeditated game.  Mr. Karmin even says that the death of the hawk would be better than having it be under Mr. Horvath's care.

The removal of the fledgling from the site may have been unnecessary, but once a bird is in a rehabilitator's hands, the rehabilitator must use his or her judgment about when is the appropriate time to return the bird.  (Mr. Horvath is licensed by the State of New York, by the way.)

The old school of thought was to return a fledgling as soon as possible back to the nest site.  In urban and suburban areas, there is a new school of thought that not rushing a poorly flying fledgling back to the nest area gives a bird a better chance of survival.  Mr. Horvath follows this new school of thought and has been very successful subscribing to it. 

Just look at last year's example.  Everyone rushed to criticize Mr. Horvath, but his choices worked out correctly.  The 888 Seventh Avenue fledgling did wonderfully after a week's separation from her parents.

The first few days off the nest are very dangerous for a young hawk.  Especially for a hawk that could not "branch" due to the nature of its urban nest location.  The grounds of the Public Housing Projects on the Lower East Side will be more difficult than normal.  While there are a few fenced in areas, they are much smaller than the fenced in private areas you will find in Central Park.

Let's let the licensed rehabilitator do his job without harassment.

Problem Fledge On Sunday

An eyas fledged today at the Houston and Avenue D nest.  I don't have all of the details yet but it appears the bird was taken away by police.

Fledgling problem such as this are very common in the city, when birds nest outside of parks.  Just after fledging, both young Kestrels and Red-tailed Hawks like to enjoy the ground before flying to safety in trees.

Inexperienced individuals rush to call authorities, who not knowing if the bird is injured, a premature fledge or just a newly fledged and startled bird end up removing it from its parents.

Let's hope the youngster gets to the right individuals, who return it to the Lower East Side after a check up.

Update 6-9-08: The young hawk has been turned over to the correct individuals, who are checking its health.

Saturday Afternoon On The Lower East Side

All three eyasses look great.  If you look at their development, especially the feathers on their heads, you'll see the differences in ages. 

Both parents visited the nest, and all five hawks were visible at once.   A dead adult male Red-tailed Hawk had been found in Tompkin Square Park, so there had been concerns about the adult male of this pair.  Luckily, this family seems to be doing well.

Sunday on the Lower East Side

After having no luck in The Bronx, I went down to the Lower East Side.  I got to see every member of the family, and watch a feeding.

Growing Up On The Lower East Side

The three Houston street eyasses are looking more and more mature each day.  They look healthy and well attended to by their parents.

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.

Houston Street Mother Provides Shade and Food

The Houston Street family is doing well.  There are three eyasses.  When I arrived the adult female was using her tail and wing feathers to provide shade for her offspring.  They ended up being restless and after about twenty minutes, she feed them.

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

Lower East Side

The female is now brooding on the Lower East Side.  Locals report that she seems to be free of the plastic bag that was on her leg on Friday.  Luckily, the male picked up and send to a rehabber a few blocks north of the nest, turns out not to be part of this pair.

I received an email that suggested there was a rush to read her band number.  It was suggested that the school be contacted so someone could look out the window.  I would suggest restraint and wait until the juveniles fledge.

However, if someone wanted to contact the school to help them build an art and science curriculum based on the hawks that might be fantastic.  Hawk Mountain already has a number of coloring books, study guides and teaching outlines.  I had hoped that New York City Audubon already had a curriculum for an inner city school but they don't seem to have one.

Here are some pictures of the male on two buildings and the female's tail, which is the best picture she would give me in the late afternoon.

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.

Lower East Side On A Rainy Saturday

There was about an hour in the morning to go hawk watching on the Lower East Side.  The nest is moving along.  The couple looks young, so we should be prepared for this first attempt not to be successful.

These hawks are looking much darker than usual, since they're wet.

One hawk was on a building west of the school when I arrived.

The other was on a tree across the street.

Then one was on the nest for about five minutes.

Before flying off.  Both birds ended up in the same tree.

One had a twig and took it to the nest and the other...

...went to a lamppost.

On the air conditioner to the left of the nest, they've built a little landing platform.

They sometimes land there, and then fly over to the real nest.

The hawk on the lamppost, then goes to a drainpipe on at the top of the school.  About 200 pigeons changed places!

The other hawk is weaving a plastic bag into the nest.

Good luck first timers!

Nesting On The Lower East Side

I went down to see how the nest was doing on Houston Street, on Saturday.   It is starting to look like a real nest, so I think we can definitely call this Manhattan Nest No. 7.  I didn't see either hawk, but a photographer and a local confirmed nest building activity earlier in the day.  Rumor has it that one of the hawks is banded.

Possible Seventh Manhattan Red-tailed Hawk Nest

Earlier this winter, when there was a juvenile Red-tailed Hawk in Thompkin Square Park, I received a tip that there was a hawk nest at Houston and the East River Drive.  It seemed like a logical spot, so now that nesting season has begun I went down to take a look.

While walking east down Houston Street towards the river, I saw a Red-tail with a twig flying down Houston Street being followed down the street by it's mate.  It landed on an air conditioner cage on the top floor of a local school, two blocks from the river.  Two air conditioner cages had twigs, so it look like the pair hasn't quite decided what to do yet.  We'll know in a few weeks.  Imagine the potential education the elementary school class may receive!

After working on the nest, both hawks perched on the Lillian Wald Settlement, a building run by the NYC Housing Authority.