Barn Owl Pellet
The Barn Owl was a bit easier to photograph today. It's now on its 8th day in the park, which is longer than expected. It regurgitated a pellet at dusk.
350 Central Park West
The nest on 350 Central Park West looked like it was doing well on a brief visit on Saturday. I can't wait until early May to watch our Manhattan nests hatch.
Barn Owl
Last seen in Central Park over a decade ago, a Barn Owl has been seen for a few days. I caught up with it this afternoon and got to watch it fly out from its roost after dark. It made one stop after fly out, and then flew across The Lake.
Crown Building
Today, while at the Pond at the Southeast corner of Central Park, I saw a Red-tailed Hawk with a branch, fly up to the Crown Building at 57th and Fifth. It went to a balcony railing, jumped down to a terrace, and then flew around the building. It wasn't clear where the twig was left. The hawk then went to the Sherry-Netherland Hotel.
We've seen hawks here in the past, with nest attempts nearby on The Plaza hotel in years past. But I've never seen fledglings in the park from this location. Any reports from nearby office buildings would be appreciated.
Third Ones A Charm
Tompkins Square Park has had an upheaval this last week. A third new female has fought with Dora, resulting in Dora going back into rehab and the new female taking over! Plus there seems to be no sign of Nora.
This new female, which I'll shorthand as F3, is making herself at home. Christo and F3 copulated at least ten times today. I guess they both know they're late in the season!
Wilson's Snipe
A Wilson's Snipe was on the west shore of The Pool, a body of water at the north end of Central Park. It's a wonderful bird, and was out in the open, which was a real treat.
2018 Manhattan Nest Update 4
Updates
- Red-tailed Hawks are nesting on the flood lights of Field 10 out on Randals Island again this year.
- The 310 West 72nd Street nest is confirmed to be active again.
- Tompkins Square park has become a version of the dating game, will it be Contestant #1, Contestant #2 or Contestant #3?
- I made a note that there is a good chance we'll find a nest on Governors Island this year. We'll find out when the island opens to the public May 1.
350 Central Park West
I hadn't had a chance to get up to 350 Central Park West for a few weeks and the nest looks great. The nest looks solid and in good shape. I caught up with the male near the Tennis Courts, and after watching the female on the nest, saw an exchange of the two hawks. The male took over egg warming duties and the female eat a pigeon left for her in a nearby tree. Then after she flew around for about five minutes, returned to the nest, and the male left.
310 West 72nd Street
310 West 72nd Street has to be the hardest nest to view in the city. It's in a gutter at the top of the building and one can't really see into the nest. But I was able to view an exchange of the two hawks, so I it would be safe to say the nest has eggs.
96th and Lexington Avenue
On the fourth floor level of the fire escape on a building on the northwest corner of 96th and Lexington Avenue, there is a new hawk nest. The female was brooding when I arrived and the male was briefly on a water tank before flying out of view. I stayed until after sunset, but didn't see a nest exchange between the two hawks.
2018 Manhattan Nest Update 3
Two changes today.
- The Highbridge Park nest appears not to be in use this year. I suspect there a nest in the park, but is as of yet not found.
- In Tompkins Square Park, Dora appears to have injured her wing again and has gone back to rehab. A new female is claiming the nest. There is a post on the EV Grieve blog. Laura Goggin Photography's has also posted about the events on Wednesday.
Totally off topic Sea Otter
I'm on vacation and can't help share pictures of this cute Sea Otter near Monterey, California.
2018 Manhattan Nest Update 2
Glad to hear of an update on the hawks at 96th and Lexington. So here is a new chart.
2018 Manhattan Nest Update 1
I'm on vacation in California, but I'm getting reports about the Manhattan nests. Any additional news would be welcome. In general, it looks like this year's nests are running a week or two later than last years nests.
Washington Square Park
I was about to give up on the hawks in Washington Square Park, when they both arrived at dusk tonight. The male visited the nest and the student center before copulating with the female on the Silver Building. (With the Judson Church Cross under repair, they've been copulating on 1 Fifth Avenue and new locations this season.) Hopefully, we'll have eggs in a few days.
Day 3, 350 Central Park West
The nest continues to grow! I arrived late in the afternoon, and saw the pair interact and copulate on a building on 97th.
There has been speculation that these hawks might be the pair we see frequently around Mt. Sinai Hospital across the park. They clearly are not the hawks that have been trying for a few years to build a nest around the San Remo.
Octavia Sitting On Her Nest
I arrived at the Fifth Avenue nest to the sounds of the St. Patrick's Day Parade. Pale Male was just leaving the nest. At first I thought it was empty but then I saw Octavia's tail in the wind. It looks like she's either getting ready to or has already laid an egg. Pale Male made another visit to the nest before perching on the Carlyle Hotel.
Day 2, 350 Central Park West
The 350 Central Park West hawks must have been busy over the last 24 hours, because the nest look to have a lot more twigs. This afternoon one of the hawks continued to work on the nest, while the other made a few fly overs. Keep your fingers crossed for this pair!
350 Central Park West
On the tenth floor of 350 Central Park West, five windows south of 95th Street on a air conditioner facing the park, a pair of Red-tailed Hawks is building a nest. I got to enjoy watching both of them bring twigs to the nest. Let's hope they succeed!
The nest is below the treeline, so the best vantages are from the park side of Central Park West, either at 92nd or 96th.
Christo
Christo was the star of my day. I first saw him copulating twice with Nora on 90 Baruch Drive and then later in the day in Tompkins Square Park. It's going to be an interesting spring! (But we should all be prepared for things to go wrong. This is a very unusual situation!)
