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.
Despite all of time I've spent looking at owls, I have been keeping an eye out for Pale Male. Today, I started my birding near Pale Male's nest. My first views were of a Cooper's Hawk chasing some European Starlings.
Then Pale Male arrived. He broke off a tree branch and took it to the nest. He then perched a little south of the nest on a fence, then a water tank and then a railing. He kept looking south. I think his new mate may be spending her time below 72nd Street.
On a gray late Fall day, a visit to Central Park yielded a few Cooper's Hawks, two Barred Owls and a few Red-tailed Hawks. Let's hope the Barred Owls stay for the Christmas Bird count, Sunday, December 16th.
I spent time watching American Crows, waterfowl and American Kestrels on Saturday and watched Pale Male on Sunday. The Harlem Meer had a nice selection of birds, including Buffleheads, Ruddy Ducks, Gadwalls, Mallards, Northern Shovelers, Wood Ducks, and a Mute Swan.
Sandy made a mess of the park, and there are still sections closed. The clean up may take longer than usual as resources are being sent to hard hit areas of NYC rather than Central Park. Sadly entitled Upper East and West siders are complaining about how they suffered because they can't walk their dogs in the park or use the bypass road in the north of the park, which is now a staging area for the clean up. Get a life folks!
I went looking for the Washington Square Red-tailed Hawks on Wednesday and came up empty. However, I did find the Peregrine Falcon that hangs out at the top of 100 Bleecker Street. I sure hope we have a Peregrine Falcon scrape next year in the Village.
This afternoon in Washington Square was fun. Both hawks were very easy to find and for the first time, I got to see the nearby Peregrine Falcon in detail. The Peregrine Falcon is a juvenile and may be roosting on 100 Bleecker Street, an I. M. Pei designed, International Style building used for NYU faculty housing.
Bobby roosted on MacDougal street building this evening. It's a noisy perch, but does have a view of 100 Bleecker!
On Saturday, I explored the park looking for raptors. My first was a Merlin falcon on a water tank on top of the Lincoln Correctional Facility on 110th Street. It was chased away by a mob of Crows. Later, I saw a Sharp-shinned Hawk hunting, although it was too fast to photograph. As I ended my walk, I saw the female Red-tailed Hawk, Lima on a 5th Avenue building around 77th Street.
Everyone was expecting the Riverside Church Peregrine Falcons to have fledged by now, but they were still all there when I visited on Thursday. I was very surprised to see five youngsters still at the scrape!
(It received an email late tonight that one of the falcons fledged after I left. So, two species of Raptors had fledges on the same day just block apart.)
With the Riverside Church Peregrine Falcon parents have fledglings, expect a few territorial disputes between the St. John the Divine Red-tailed Hawk parents.
Today, I discovered that it's not just a single Peregrine Falcon that has been hanging out on the Eldorado towers, but a pair. One was on the north towe and the other on the south tower, before one moved to a ledge lower down on the building.
(Pale Male has been spending time just below the Reservoir. I wonder if he's keeping an eye on these new neighbors?)
On Saturday, my late afternoon visit to Central Park started with a Peregrine Falcon on top of the southern tower of The Eldorado on Central Park West.
It ended with my standard visit to the North Wood's Eastern Screech-Owl. I got a glimpse at what might be a band on her, although it was hardly certain.
For the last year, I've not had any sign that this owl is banded. This one still frame from the video makes me feel she might be banded.
The annual Central Park Christmas Bird Count was on Sunday. It's a great event that brings together the Urban Park Rangers, the Parks Department, Audubon NYC and lots of amateur birders to take a census of the birds wintering in the park.
After a series of bad weather counts with snow, rain or bitterly cold temperatures, this count had enjoyable, if chilly weather.
The day before, I looked for the two unusual birds that have been around, the Varied Thrush and a young Red-Headed Woodpecker (which at this age, has yet to get a red head.) Along the way I had nice looks at a Cooper's hawk.
On Sunday, I joined the Northeast team. Highlights for me were a Carolina Wren and young Red-tailed Hawk at Mount Sinai Hospital. After our counting was done, our team saw a Merlin in the Northwest team's area, I saw a young Red-tail being harrased by Pale Male at 63rd and Fifth, and at dusk I watched the park's surviving Eastern Screech-Owl's fly out.
The count had 62 species of birds, including birds from the count week. There are lots of birds in Central Park, even in the winter! The count had 11 Red-tailed Hawks, 9 Cooper's Hawks, 2 Merlins, 1 Sharp-shinned Hawk, 1 Peregrine Falcon, and 1 Eastern Screech-Owl.
This youngster was in the Loch on Sunday. This is a tough period for many young hawks. They're on their own for the first time, and those that haven't mastered hunting are in a real battle for their lives. After nest and fledging accidents, this is a peak time for rehabbers, who get lots of undernourished youngsters in the Fall.
Late fall is a great time to Hawk Watch in New York City. There are lots of migrants passing through and some may even stay for the winter. Here's a Cooper's Hawk in Central Park.
The Merlin that had been hanging out on top of a watertower on Central Park West between 101st and 102nd is still there. On Tuesday, just like Sunday it caught dinner just before dusk.
The pictures and video are of poor quality, but the find was exciting. A Merlin was on top of a water tower on Central Park at 111th Street. This small falcon was a fun find on a cold afternoon.
I've been away on weekends, and it's too dark in the late afternoon to visit Riverside Park after work, so I haven't been able to visit until this Saturday.
While I was away I received reports of the youngster being at the ballfields by the dumpsters south of the Boat Basin, and further north in the 90's and 100's. The youngster's being outside of the parent's territory is a great sign that it's growing up!
When I visited Saturday, I only found the two parents. They were together on a water tower at 81st and Riverside, and both few off towards the south. I found one, perching on various lamp posts above the highway.
I went looking for the youngster, without any luck. As I left the park, I saw a bird perched on a building at 90th and Broadway. I was hoping it was the youngster, but found that it was a Peregrine Falcon, a nice consolation prize.
I visited the Rockefeller Preserve on Saturday and got to see a fun American Kestrel vs. Red-tailed Hawk show. It was all about territory protection. The Kestrel was protecting its family's territory. The family seemed to be two adults and two juveniles.
The Riverside Church Peregrine Falcons' don't seem to have fledged yet. Word is that there are four young Falcon's this year. I was able to see at least two of the youngsters and both parents on a visit to the church Saturday evening.
I visited the scrape on Saturday afternoon. The eyasses have matured a great deal since I last saw them. They look like they should be ready to fledge by next weekend.
I've included some photographs of the bridge and the Harlem River. I realized in my excitement over finding this year's scrape, I forgot to document the area. Below the bridge are the Metro North Hudson River Line tracks and the Harlem River. The bridge has two levels, an upper deck for the 1 subway train, and a lower deck for car traffic.
I've become fascinated with the Broadway Bridge scrape. It's the first time I've been able to watch young Peregrine Falcons in person. It's a lot different than watching the 55 Water Street video feed.
Tonight there was a feeding by one of the parents, although it looks like the eyasses can pick at food by themselves. I'm looking forward to watching this pair grow up and fledge.
New York City has a large population of Peregrine Falcon's. My favorite pair has a scrape on Broadway Bridge, easily accessible by the 1 subway train. It's the Marble Hill-225th Street stop. The bridge is a drawbridge over the Harlem River and allows you some of the closest views of Peregrine Falcons in the city. This year, their scrape is situated so that you can see the eyasses being fed.
Yes, that is a dead bird blocking the drainage hole.
While searching for a possible Red-tailed Hawk nest, I saw this American Kestrel at 133rd and Broadway. It was a fun find, because I was able to I.D. it without binoculars based on its tail pump and silhouette. As you have more experience as a birder, lots of little clues just start to click in automatically.
The annual Christmas Bird Count was held in Central Park. The snow storm had tapered off just in time for a nice morning in the park.
Counting in fresh snow was good exercise, although it kept the count numbers down. I birded the Northwest. Highlights included a female Wood Duck and a Great Blue Heron (most likely the same bird Jack Meyer saw earlier in the week on the Lake). Our group had two raptor species, a Cooper's Hawk and a pair of Red-tailed Hawks.
An unusual species for the count was a Turkey Vulture, with multiple fly overs the park. Speculation was that heavy snow forced the vultures south. The Riverside Park count even had a Bald Eagle. So the weather was a mixed blessing.
All over New York City, wintering hawks are establishing themselves in various parks. I've received emails about hawks on the Upper East Side, down in Washington Square Park, and Riverside Park in Manhattan, as well as other locations in Queens and Brooklyn.
This Cooper's Hawk seems to have settled into the Loch in Central Park, and looks like it might stay the winter.
I walked up from the mid-70s to the North Woods to look for Screech-Owls and came along some interesting diversions along the way. On a building at 89th Street and Central Park West was a Red-tailed Hawk. This section of the park, west of the Reservoir, usually has a Red-tailed guest during the winter. To my surprise there were two Red-tailed Hawks, something I'm not used to seeing here.
Then while waiting for it to get dark, a Cooper's Hawk dove into the Loch. It caught a squirrel and ate it. It's the first time I've seen a Cooper's Hawk with a squirrel.
Lastly, I was able to see and hear both of the North Woods resident Eastern Screech-Owls. They've switched roosts, so we felt lucky to find them.
On the way out of the park, I saw that the Lasker Pool is now the Lasker Rink! Another sign of the changing seasons.
