Urban Hawks

Growing Up Fast

The Washington Square eyasses are growing up fast.  I didn't see them for a few days, and they've changed greatly.  Come to the park and see them on the nest before it's too late!

Chuck-Will's-Widow

Judging by the under tail of the bird, we had a female Chuck-Will's-Widow in Central Park today.  A nice surprise on a wonderfully warm spring day.

Monday Evening In Washington Square

A few techincal problems delayed my posting video and photographs until today. 

Monday was very enjoyable in Washington Square.  Everyone was visible and active making for a nice evening.

More Fifth Avenue

I spent most of the weekend bird watching, so I only shot about 15 minutes of hawks over the last two days.  I did get to see the Fifth Avenue nest on Sunday afternoon.

Meal Time

A feeding on Fifth Avenue.  Pictures and video say it all...

Growing Up

We're at about the halfway point between hatching and fledgling at Washington Square.  It's an awkward stage between fluff and juvenile feathers.  But flapping has begun, as has ledge exploration, so it's a great time to watch them.

Three Eyasses at St. John

This evening at St. John, a feeding revealed three eyasses in the nest.  This beautiful location continues to consistently give us young hawks year after year.

Fabulous Five On Fifth

Tonight, Pale Male and Octavia, plus their three eyasses were on view for most of the evening.  So much fun to watch all of them.

RFK Bridge

At the base of the Astoria Queens side of the RFK Bridge is an established nest of Red-tailed Hawks.  It's one of the easiest nests to watch in the city and this year has at least two eyasses.

Randalls Island

On the Northeast light post of the soccer field north of Icahn Stadium is the 2013 Randalls Island Red-tailed Hawk nest.  The female of the nest was sitting on the eggs.  She sat low on the nest and when she settled in after getting in did the back and forth wiggle a brooding mother does.

So, I don't thing we've had a hatch yet out on Randalls Island.

West End Avenue

Last year, the location of the Riverside nest ended up being uncertain.  This year, it's clear where it is located, on the west side of a West End Avenue building on a top floor fire escape.  (The neighborhood is a little worried that someone will disturb the nest given it's location, so forgive me if I don't give complete directions.)

The male visited twice and an eyass was seen very briefly (after 6:40 on the video).  Neighborhood hawk watchers have seen two heads pop up.  The eyass count is just a guess at this point. We'll have to wait a few more weeks to have an accurate count.

These hawks are the pair that replaced the poisoned pair from the boat basin.

Rats

Today while watching a feeding, a nice gentleman came up to me to watch and said "those hawks are why we have rats in Washington Square Park".  I was taken aback at first but realized it was a chance to educate him about rats in the park.

I told him that the rodent population issues in the park were more complicated than simply a ban on poisons.  It's too simplistic to say the rats are there because the use of poisons have been restricted.  I informed him that snare traps can be just as effective as poisons when used properly and managed. 

I went on to say that I thought the real cause of the rat problem in the park was the failure of the parks department to take preventative measures to control the rodent population.  The park simply encourages them due to:

• Providing them large amounts of food.
  • Mass feeding of squirrels and pigeons needs to be prevented by updating park regulations.  Park patrons are feeding large quantities of food to squirrels and pigeons.  A few pieces of bread or the occasional nut have turned into huge bags of food being spread around the park, which end up feeding the rats as well as the targeted animals.
  • Inappropriate trash cans.  The new trash cans, while beautiful, are too small and are not rat proof.  At dusk you can watch the rats run in and out of the trash cans.  These need to be replaced.
  • Poor trash management.  Trash pickups should be timed not just to keep the cans empty, but to make sure they are empty before the rats become active for the evening.
• Poor landscaping.  The new park design has tall grasses and other leafy plants in the shady areas of the park and along the fence borders.  These protect rat borrows and create a perfect home for the rodents.  The Central Park Conservancy had been evaluating ground cover and found that by carefully selecting the appropriate plants, rat borrowing can be discouraged.

It's important for the hawk watching community to prevent a backlash against the restrictions on poisons in the park.  We'll need to work with the new Washington Square Park Conservancy to educate them about the complexity of this issue. 

It will also mean a reduction of animal feeding in the park which would be very unpopular with the pigeon and squirrel constituencies.  This may be the hardest battle.

(...and before anyone says it.  A family of hawks will never control the rodent population of Greenwich Village.)

Trio On Fifth

Three eyasses (young hawks) were viable in the Fifth Avenue nest today.  Nice to see a full house on Fifth Avenue.  Pale Male gave Ocatavia a brief break late in the afternoon.  I think the video and photographs say more than anything I could write...

Fun, Fun, Fun

Sometimes a visit to Washington Square has lots of dull moments, but this evening there were visits by Bobby to the park, Rosie going off to eat, and lots of feedings.  Plus it was a very nice day, sunny and in the sixties.

The Kestrel was back giving Bobby a hard time.  I suspect both pairs of raptors have nestlings.

Family Dinner

Thursday night in Washington Square Park was wonderful.  A crisp sunny day, and lots of activity by the eyasses, Rosie and Bobby.  We got to watch all of them eat, and the eyasses are big enough that one can get great views of them.

Fifth Avenue Feeding

Tonight I spend the evening looking for warblers, but made a brief visit to the Fifth Avenue nest and caught Octavia feeding her eyasses.  They're still too little to see and count but it's great to know they're in the nest.

Feeding on Fifth Avenue

Pale Male and his new mate have new offspring.  Food was brought to the nest on Saturday evening and feeding began on Saturday.  Today, I watched a feeding and a number of visits by Pale Male.  We'll know how many eyasses there are within the week.

 

New Nest Location on Central Park West

The pair that has been trying to build a safely located nest on Central Park West has found a new nest location on top of an air conditioner on between 87th and 88th Street.

A second clutch is unusual for Red-tailed Hawks, although we have seen it in the city before. It will be interesting to see if this pair attempts one this year.

Brief Glimpse

Tonight, I got my first look from the park, of an eyass on the Washington Square Nest.  I can't wait until they are walking all around the ledge.

Riverside Park

Every breeding season in New York City, we have lots of nests that work like clockwork.  This year, this seems to be Washington Square Park, Fort Washington Avenue, Inwood Hill Park, Fifth Avenue, CUNY Uptown and St. John seem to be in this category this year.  (I haven't had a chance to see what's up on Randall's Island, but that I suspect is fine.)

Then we have mysteries or mishaps.  The Highbridge Park nest had problems, and a new one was built recently.   In Central Park three pairs of hawks, one at the south, one in the northwest and one in the northeast, are all trying to get established.

The most confusing though is Riverside Park.  After a few seasons of tragedies, last year two new hawks failed to make a nest although they tried on a number of fire escapes.  This season, two hawks have been reported in the 90's of Riverside Park.  I went to see them today, but came away with more questions than answers.

Bobby Takes A Bath

Wednesday night in Washington Square Park was lots of fun.  Bobby spent a great deal of time on the Law School, eating and bathing.  Later in the evening Rosie left the nest unattended and ate some of his leftovers.  It was nice to see them close up for a change.

Washington Square

I made yet another visit to Washington Square Park this evening.  (It's close to my office and my workday ran long.)  Things continue to look great and it looks like the adults are getting used to having kids. 

Rosie only took a quick break and Bobby was around the park but didn't spend much time in view.

Washington Square Feeding From The Park

On Monday evening, I got to see both hawks, Bobby and Rosie.  Bobby was first on 1 Fifth Avenue and then made a visit to the nest after Rosie began a feeding.  In about a week, you'll be able to catch small glimpses of the eyasses (young hawks) from the park.

Washington Square Feeding

The Washington Square nest has two hatched eyasses and an unhatched egg as of this morning.  I was able to capture a few minutes of the NYU webcam video of a feeding.

The chat room as named them Kiku and Archie.  Kiku after a member of the chat room who passed away, and Archie for the Washington Square Arch. 

The third egg hatched at 12:45 p.m. EDT on Monday, April 15th. It has been named Judson.

 

Terence Cardinal Cooke Health Care Center

Terence Cardinal Cooke Health Care Center is at 106th and Fifth Avenue.  This winter I've frequently seen a hawk on top of the building.  I didn't think much of it, since we usually have a few wintering hawks in the north part of the park.

Today, I was surprised to see not one but two hawks on the building.  Before I could get my camera out, the male flew off, circled the hill with the compost heap, and returned to the building and copulated with the female.

My first thought was these could be the Central Park West hawks?  But both seem lighter both in eye color and in chest banding.  The couple looks young.  Anyone seen nest building on upper Fifth Avenue?

A Brief Break For Rosie

An eleven minute clip from the Washington Square web camera of Rosie taking a little break Sunday morning.

Washington Square Has A Second Hatch

The second egg hatched on the Washington Square nest today.  While the web camera watchers got a show, there wasn't much to see from the ground in the afternoon.  Bobby visited the nest and there were two feedings.

Best and Worst of Times

On the day that the Washington Square Hawks had their first egg hatch, the Central Park West hawks gave up on their 322 Central Park West nest.

Tonight, I first found one of the hawks on the back of 350 CPW, on a ledge on 94th Street.  The hawk left the perch and when I got back to CPW, the two hawks were copulating on a building on 93rd Street.  Then the female went off to a tree in the park.

We'll see what happens.  The hawks look to be building a new nest on a different location on 350 CPW. 

Central Park West Drama

After receiving reports that the Central Park West had been taken down, I went to the park today to look for the hawks.  You can imagine my surprise when I found a hawks sitting on a slightly smaller nest than I had seen on the weekend.   (It's not clear if the female has laid eggs just yet, or will be in the next few days.)

When I got home, folks on the WSP chat room directed me to the Pale Male Irregulars website.  It had news of destruction of the nest by the construction company working on the façade. There was also a story in the New York Post.

Lets hope the hawks can rebuild the nest in time to make a good go of it this year.

Update: 4/11/13.  I was sent a photograph today that showed the female sitting on the ledge with one egg having rolled away from her.  Without a proper nest bowl, she may have had to choose to incubate only one egg.

Washington Square

Rosie and Bobby in Washington Square are close to their hatch date, so I decided to make a trip and see how things are doing.  It was quiet at first.  Then Bobby appeared on top of 2 Fifth.  A nest exchange took place and Rosie did some high flying.  She settled down on the west side of the park, before dropping down to some low tree branches to look for rodents.

Eventually, see went to the north side of the park where it looks like she caught a pigeon.  (It was out of view, so there is a possibility she just picked up a pigeon Bobby cached for her.)  She eat a good deal of it, then flew of towards the nest.  Even before she got back to the eggs, Bobby had left the nest to eat the leftovers!