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The Washington Square Fledglings have been hanging out on water tanks on Mercer street buildings this week.
I caught up with one fledgling on a small water tank. The parents were seen briefly flying high overhead together towards Union Square.
The whole Avenue A family, the parents and the three fledglings were on the Most Holy Redeemer Church on Third Street this evening. It was great to see all three fledglings at once.
One of them has been getting him/herself into trouble over the last few days. Once it hung out low on Avenue A and had to be relocated to the park, and then two days later it flew into an air shaft. So, it was great to see all three flying around the church.
Dinner for one of the fledglings was a rat, which it stole from a sibling!
The Morningside Hawks Blog has reported feeding activity up at St. John, so I checked it out this afternoon. The new nest location this year is one saint clockwise from previous years, above St. Peter. Previously, it was a little lower down on the shoulders of St. Andrew.
While I was there there were two feedings, and I saw a slice come out of the nest. The eyasses are too small to see just yet, but the feeding and the slice are enough to let us know there are youngsters.
This late hatch is most likely from a second clutch of eggs.
The three fledglings were having a great time flying from tree to tree and calling for food whenever they say their father fly by at Fifth Avenue. It was a delight to watch them all, at times from the same viewing location.
At Fifth Avenue, we usually see three migrations after fledging. First its an exploration of nearby buildings, then the area south of the playground at 77th Street, and then Cedar Hill. We're in the second phase now with the fledglings beginning to play on the ground and explore the trees. It's a fun time to watch them.
The Sheep Meadow nest had all three youngsters exploring the nest tree today. Their mother cam in with a pigeon and tried to get them to come to her to get the food. See waited twenty minutes before giving up. As soon as she put it in the nest, one eyass came in and ate.
A store right below the Avenue A nest made the most out of the mess they endured while the eyasses were above. They created a great window display of the eggs and the eyasses. Worth a detour if you're on the Lower East Side. 45 Avenue A between 3rd and 4th Streets.
I went down to Avenue A to see how everyone was doing after the excitement on Wednesday, where one of the hawks got relocated to Tompkins Square Park.
I was able to find four of the hawks, but not the one who went to TSP. It had been last seen in the morning. (There were lots of robins attacking something at the top of a tree, near where the bird had been released so it might just have been too high to find.)
The four hawks were together on the Most Holy Redeemer Church.
All three juveniles were in the nest tree this evening. If I hadn't seen one yesterday in a tree to the south, I wouldn't believe a fledge had occurred the day before! One stayed on the nest, but the other two were out on branches most of the time. They all were having a nice relaxed day. Unlike one of the fledglings downtown.
The first fledgling is off the nest at Sheep Meadow in Central Park. A trip from the nest to a fence and back to a nearby tree. While I was there, there was an eyass on the nest, a bird branching (exploring the limbs on the nest tree), a parent watching everyone, and the fledgling. Somehow, the rain held off long enough for me to photograph all of them.
Our reluctant fledgling at Washington Square Park is getting more active, jumping around the three windows and being much more confident. It had two rats for meals today. At this rate it should be finally off the ledge on Monday or Tuesday.
The active fledgling was above the reluctant one on the roof of Pless for much of the afternoon, but eluded being photographed. Both parents kept an eye on the two youngsters and late in the day the mother flew frequently over Pless, as though to say to the reluctant one, it is time to go.
(Word comes from Fifth Avenue, that all three have fledged.)
Monday update: The fledgling left the Pless building almost a week after it arrived, going to the Silver Building and back to Pless. By the evening it was nowhere in sight, most likely enjoying a rooftop perch nearby.
Two of three eyasses fledged today. One to a bar and the other to a church and then a school. How Alphabet!
I went looking to see if the Avenue A nest had fledged on Friday, to find all three eyasses still on the nest. I was a day to early. One fledged on Saturday morning! But they were fun to watch as there last day as an air conditioner trio.
At Washington Square we have a rare but not unusual event happening. A fledgling has decided it fledged too early and is staying put on a window ledge. This is seen by rehabilitators from time to time.
In this instance a number of rehabbers have been consulted and each agree that since:
that the best course of action is to let nature take its course. At some point the youngster will mature mentally and start flying.
Now, this rare but not unusual event is worrying the Washington Square and NYU community. Inexperienced viewers are worried that something is wrong with the bird. They've been calling 911, 311, Animal Control, the NYS DEC and every rehabber they can find. This is all well intentioned but not helpful.
So, when I'm at Washington Square I reassure everyone who talks to me that:
(I also learned Friday, that landing on Pless was not a crash landing as previously reported to me. It was a sloppy but gentle landing.)
Washington Square Park has one of its fledglings staying in basically the same place since it fledged. Except for moving from a fourth floor ledge to a third floor ledge it's stayed in the same place since around Monday at 10 am.
It's being fed by its parents and doesn't have any apparent injuries. Most likely it fledged too early or may have hit its head while fledging and needs some time to recover.
The other fledgling was having a meal on the Shimkin Building roof and both parents were keeping an eye on both fledglings.
When I arrived at the Fifth Avenue nest, four hawks were in view. Two fledglings on roofs of buildings two blocks south of the nest, Pale Male two floors below on a railing, and an eyass on the nest (despite reports of a fledge on Tuesday.)
One of the fledglings explored various perches on a water tank. One of the things a young hawk needs to practice is turning around on a branch or in this case a rod. It was charming to watch the young hawk learn.
Just before a brief rain shower, Octavia made her way to the nest and plucked what may have been a pigeon carcass before leaving the remaining eyass alone on the nest.
News has arrived that the West End Avenue nest has failed this year. Two eggs were laid, and one hatched. The eyass died, although I'm not sure at what age. This location and the nest locations nearby have had issues in years past, so this news while sad wasn't that unexpected.
The two fledglings at Washington Square can't be any different. One is very active and flying high up to the roofs of the Shimkin Hall and the Education Building. The other is staying put on a fourth floor window ledge of the Pless Building. Young hawks definitely show you their personalities after fledging.
The parents were in view, and both kept a close eye on both fledglings.
Once eyasses fledge it's a lot more work to go hawk watching. You have to find them. Or in reality, let them and the birds around them show you were they are.
Tonight, the first was found on a building on Fifth Avenue yelling for attention before going off to a tree. It seemed to have the hang of things. It got to watch its father catch a pigeon and pluck it's feathers below it.
The second fledgling was found on a building just south of the nest on a windows ledge. It looked a little bewildered, but its mother kept a eye on the youngster. Her arrival clued us to the location of this second fledgling.
And our third eyass is still on the nest.
One eyass fledged sometime over the last day at Washington Square Park. I discovered it on the roof of the Bobst Library late this afternoon. It had fledged sometime in the last 24 hours, most likely Sunday morning. I received word that after I left the park, the fledgling ended up on the Pless building for the night.
It's sibling is still on the nest and was fed by the parents, who seem in no rush to have it leave. Update: The second fledgling left the nest sometime before 10 am on Monday morning. Both birds were seen safely on buildings to the east of the park. One on Silver and one on Pless.
As always, the Washington Square Eyasses seem in no rush to fledge. They look ready to go, but spend the afternoons laying about the nest. This year is no different. The real action this afternoon was watching a pigeon get eaten by one of the parents.
Sometime around 4 p.m., while no one was looking one of the Fifth Avenue eyasses fledged to a building two blocks north. I arrived around 5 and got to see the first fledgling explore a terrace. I had to rush off to get ready for a dinner with friends, only to receive a text that a second fledge had occurred around 6:45. Let the fun begin!
The Fifth Avenue eyasses are close to fledging. The hawk bench is enjoying watching them get ready for their next stage in life. It was a hot evening, so there was limited flapping and jumping but we did get to see Octavia and Pale Male together on the same perch for an extended period.
The nest on Avenue A continues to do well. It's a little crowded on the air conditioner, but they're managing. The parents spent most of the evening across the street on the church, with the mother making one brief visit.
After a visit to Cape Cod for a family wedding and a busy work week, I finally got to hawk watch on Wednesday. The Washington Square hawks have really grown up, and look like they could fledge whenever they're ready. They looked fantastic taking short flights on the window ledge.