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!

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.

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.

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.)

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.

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.

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.

 

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.

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!

Washington Square Web Camera Up and Running

The wait is over. The new URL is www.livestream.com/nyu_hawkcam

Web Cam Gets Installed

While watching Bobby and Rosie this evening, I also got to watch the 2013 web cam get installed for the Washington Square nest.  I also received news that there are three eggs in the nest.   Good news all around.

Washington Square Nesting Season Begins

Rosie and Bobby are nesting again.  Rosie is sitting on the nest and it looks like she's rolling at least one egg. 

The New York Times has withdrawn from sponsoring the web camera, so hawk watchers may need to come to the park in person if they want a live view of the hawks this year.

Update: 3/13/13, News comes from one of the chat moderators that NYU will be hosting a camera on their own this year.  The camera will be installed in a few weeks.

Rosie in Washington Square

The adult female of Washington Square was hunting in the park this afternoon.  The park had lots of downed tree limbs and construction debris that came off of 2 Fifth Avenue.  The park is still closed to the public, but park employees were working hard to clean up the mess.  The area is still without power.

Being Hassled On Top Of One Fifth

You would think perching on top of One Fifth Avenue would be a quiet place to watch the city, but tonight both a falcon and a Northern Mockingbird thought differently.

Third Times A Charm

I started my day exploring Central Park without any luck, then Washington Square without any luck and finally found two hawks in Union Square.  For those unfamiliar with New York City Parks, Union Square is about eight blocks north of Washington Square and can be seen from that park's nest.

In Union Square, I first spotted Rosie, the adult female, between the W and U of the W Union Sq sign, at Park Avenue South and 17th Street.   I then saw a young hawk hunting around the Square's main lawn.  It was most likely Boo.  It caught a small rodent.  The hawk looked very healthy and has its mother's enthusiasm for hunting, making at least ten passes at squirrels.

No Place Like Home

Red-tail Hawk fledglings wonder farther from home base as the summer progresses.  Hawks from the Washington Square family have been seen in Father Demo Square (southwest) and Union Square (north) this week.

So, I was surprised to find one one of the fledglings back in a familiar spot, the west side of Washington Square Park.   The fledgling was doing some haphazard hunting, moving at least forty Rock Pigeons over and over again.

One Fifth Avenue

I only found one Red-tailed Hawk in the Washington Square Park area this evening.  A juvenile was on the north side of One Fifth Avenue.  I'm afraid we've begun the period where the youngsters are going to be harder and harder to locate!

Washington Square

On Tuesday, I had a peaceful visit to Washington Square and had great views of Rosie and both fledglings.

Single Fledgling

I got to see one of the Washington Square fledglings and both parents this evening.  The fledglings are starting to venture outside of the park, so I think the area hawk watchers are going to need to work harder to find them in the upcoming weeks.

Calm Fledglings

Tonight the two fledglings were calm after the thunderstorms.  One was in a tree on the east side of the park, and the other on a building on the SW corner of the park.  One of the parents arrived with a Rock Pigeon and the juvenile in the park joined the mother and took the pigeon from her.

Other than this not much happened. 

Cooling Off

I arrived in the park to find the two fledglings playing around a plastic bag.  I discovered it had trapped water and the young hawks were using it too cool off.

The hawks and their mother perched in trees for a long time in the hot weather as well.  A thunderstorm came through and I exited the park.

The fledglings continue to delight park visitors.  If you haven't seen the fledglings in a while, try to make a visit this weekend.  They're at a delightful, playful age.

Playtime in Washington Square

Tuesday evening was an absolute delight in Washington Square.  The two fledglings were playing on the lawn and exploring the east end of the park.  They looked so different from the tentative fledglings of just ten days ago.

Three Raptors

I love when watching Red-tailed Hawks, you end up seeing a Peregrine Falcon and an American Kestrel have a territorial battles with the hawks.  One raptor gets you two more.  This happened this evening around Washington Square.

Bobby kept an eye on the Peregrine Falcon and Rosie got buzzed by the American Kestrel.

Both fledglings were hard to find until dusk.  One was spotted going between trees in the east side of the park, before going up to a building.  The other fedgling flew to the the Silver building from the library.  They're getting used to maneuvering in trees, and are doing very well at gaining altitude and flying long distances.

Washington Square

The Fledglings seem to get more comfortable flying and landing each day.  The both appeared on the building east of the park this evening.  They put on a nice show.

Both appeared to roost in trees this evening.  Rosie has been spending a great deal of time hunting in the area around the fledglings.  It will be interesting to see if this year, the fledglings spend more time in the park than Pip did last year.

Nestalgia

Viewers of the webcam got to see one of the fledglings return to the nest and get fed.  Returning to the nest by a fledgling doesn't happen that often, as the nest is primarily a nursery rather than a home for Red-tailed Hawks.  But when it does, it's fun to watch.

I saw both a fledgling and the mother, Rosie on the nest in the evening.  Highlights of the night included a miscalculated landing on the library by a fledgling.  It though it could land on a window ledge, but there wasn't really a ledge, so it floated down to a ledge on the second floor of the library.  Luckily, it looked much more dangerous than it turned out to be.

The fledglings ventured into the trees, and it is possible that one may have roosted in a tree for the evening but it was hard to tell for sure.