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I hadn't been at the nest for over a month and realized I better visit before the eyasses got ready to fledge. There are three youngsters, although it took some careful observing to make out all three at once. It's good to see this nest get back to normal after all of the construction in the area over the last few years.
Tonight, both parents and fledglings were very active in the park. It was nice to see the biologically related fledgling chase after the father for food. A great sign the fledglings are maturing and getting used to the park.
Changes from last update:
Sunday at Fifth Avenue was similar to Saturday, a mix of fledglings in the park and on Fifth Avenue buildings.
The Fifth Avenue fledglings are still centered around 72nd and Fifth but are also being seen further away, including The Ramble and a building on 70th and Fifth.
After a few days where the fledgling alluded hawk watchers, it was nice to get a text from a friend that she was quietly sitting in a tree on the west side of the park. She moved around a bit while I was there and Bobby, her father came in to check on her. But in general, it was a quiet afternoon.
The three fledglings and their parents are doing very well, with them still staying around 72nd Street and Fifth Avenue. They were all flying around when I was there for about an hour this evening.
Both the adopted fledgling and the biological fledgling are starting to feel at home flying around the park and exploring the ground too. This evening it was one happy family with the adult male feeding both youngsters. It should be a fun summer.
The Tompkins Square Park foster child has been fully adopted by the parents in the park. They're feeding it at least twice a day. It however seems a little overwhelmed by the park and is still a little reticent to fly around. It's preferring to branch around a tree rather than fly just yet. I'm sure this will work itself out over the next few days.
Thanks to the Horvaths for giving this youngster a chance to be a wild animal again. Nothing is without risk, but giving this bird a chance to live a natural life is fantastic.
The Tompkins Square Park foster child finally decided to leave it's tree. It first went to a fence and then spent much of the afternoon exploring the main lawn of the park.
The fact that it wasn't eager to fly back up into a tree had a few folks overly concerned. The parents had already fed the new bird twice since it arrived. Fledglings are like toddlers and can do silly things. The right folks were keeping track of the bird, and everyone who needed it had the phone number of both parks employees and the rehabbers.
Releasing a bird back isn't without risk but rescued eyasses deserve to be given a chance to be wild again. I learned a long time ago not to second guess an established, trusted rehabber.
Today, I after a good deal of searching I was able to find the fledgling and the adults. My first sighting was a parent going west off of the student center towards Washington Square West. Then after about ten minutes both adults were on top of an apartment building on the NW corner of the park. It's unusual to see them together at this spot, so I hoped the fledgling was nearby. One of the parents kept flying to a building on the SW corner of the park, so I guessed the fledgling was on one of the western buildings. But I couldn't find it, but could hear Blue Jays from the park. So I went out to Sixth Avenue and from in front of the IFC movie theater could see the fledgling on a railing of the SW building on the park. It was foggy, so the photographs aren't great. But I felt like I had been a great detective to find the fledgling!
The foster child and the fledgling were both in the same trees they had been the day before when I visited Tompkins Square Park. What was different was the behavior of the parents. Both were doing their best to entice both fledglings to leave their respective trees. Christo, the adult male few around with a pigeon, making multiple passes to entice the youngsters to fly. Dora made visits too, but without food. However, both youngsters were content to stay perched in their respective trees.
After visiting Washington Square Park and striking out in my attempt to find the fledgling (who was sighted earlier in the day), I went over to Tompkins Square Park. To my surprise there was an extra juvenile in the park. It has been brought by WINORR so it can be adopted by the Tompkins Square Park parents. In almost all cases, the parents will adopt a juvenile brought into their territory, although it may take a day or two and a crying, hungry youngster for things to click. We'll see what happens over the next few days.
The first five photographs are of the transplanted hawk from Flatbush, Brooklyn who is banded. The others are of the Tompkins Square Park fledgling.
Changes from the last update:
The fledgling's second day included trips back and forth from the Pless Building to trees on the east side of the park, and at the end of the day a journey to the top of the Silver Building. The fledgling seems strong and confident. A hawk that is late to fledge may be better prepared for life outside the nest, and this seems to be the case here.
The eyass at Tompkins Square Park has started to do some minor branching but shows no sign of leaving home just yet. I visited the park briefly on Sunday.
The Washington Square Park eyass fledged early this morning. As is my habit, I slept late on Saturday morning and didn't make it to the park until the afternoon. When I arrived, the fledgling has already been found on top of a platform that used to support a water tank behind the Pless building. It was cooperative and gave great view before flying to a nearby roof and out of view. It then reappeared back on the same structure for about 45 minutes. It then made a good strong flight north, and we could not find it. I suspect it was on a roof of a building on Washington Square North.
All three Fifth Avenur fledglings were near the nest building today and for a time you could stand in one place on the sidewalk of 5th Avenue and see all three. One was on the roof of the nest building, one on a balcony a few doors down, and one was very active flying back and forth across 5th Avenue. It was nice to see all three doing well.
The Washington Square Eyass should have fledged a few days ago, but seems in no rush to leave. It looks ready to go, except for two primary feathers (5 and 6) on the right wing. This is similar to the retarded growth of a few feathers with last year's eyass.
It might take the parents to get this hawk to fledge by teasing it off the nest with food dropped not on the nest but nearby buildings. We'll see what happens over the next few days.
I visited the Fifth Avenue nest today and found that all of the eyasses had fledged. I saw everyone except one fledgling. Of the two fledglings I saw one was on a window ledge on the 74th Street side of the nest building and the other on a railing two blocks north. Both parents were keeping a watch over them.
Changes from the last update:
The eyass at Washington Square sure looks ready to fledge. I can't wait for it to start exploring the park!
Tonight I got to see all of the Fifth Avenue family. First the two still on the nest, including the one reluctant fledgling who came back. Then Octavia who was on her favorite perch. With Lincoln Karim's kind help, I saw the first fledgling who made some small flights on the "Woody Building". And finally, Pale Male getting ready to roost for the night.
The always crying second fledgling decided it wasn't time and returned to the nest on Saturday afternoon. It was still there on Sunday afternoon. The Salute to Israel Day parade was in progress, which prevented the hawk watchers from hearing signs of the first fledgling.
A second eyass fledged from the Fifth Avenue nest today. While I was in the park, it spent time on a balcony and then a window on the 8th floor of the nest building. It loved to cry. The first fledgling was in the park, and had a meal on the "feeding tree", which was also used last year to feed the fledglings. One eyass remains on the nest.
This morning one of the eyasses left the Fifth Avenue nest. I caught up with the fledgling this evening where it was in trees below the nest inside the park. The fledgling flew well, but as is typical for a bird just off the nest had issues landing. It roosted in a safe spot a block north of the nest.
I never can predict when hawks will fledge. The common wisdom is sometime around the Puerto Rican Day Parade (the Sunday after next) is the time the Fifth Avenue hawks will fledge. But these hawks seem close to being ready. Only time will tell!