Governors Island Update
The Governors Island nest, which is above The Yard, a playground on the island, has two eyasses and seems to have hatched 7-10 days ago. I saw two visits from the male and two feedings late in the afternoon.
More Sighting – Wild West Playground
I saw another feeding of the eyass(es) on Thursday, but still can figure out how many there are. They are getting bigger and stronger, so I hope to have an answer soon. If you’re visiting I would suggest standing at the following locations. For now a spotting scope is very helpful.
1) The best location for an unobstructed view. Walk in from 93rd to the first path intersection.
2) A rock outcropping with a view of the nest. It’s not ideal but sometimes allows you to see a feeding.
3) The second small hill going north has a decent view.
4) This is a large outcropping of rock and has a limited view of the nest.
5) The closest bathroom, located at the Tennis Center, although they close at 4 pm, and are often locked early.
First Sighting – Wild West Playground
I finally got a glimpse of one of the eyasses (nestling hawk) at the Wild West Playground today. It’s best seen on the video, starting at 1:50. It was still hard to see, so you can understand why we use other clues such as a feeding, the parents sitting higher, the male bringing food to the nest and a large number of flies to declare a nest has hatched.
Wild West Playground
The nest continues to show the signs of hatching, with flies, feedings and the parents up and off the eyasses often. But it’s still to early to see they eyasses (nestling hawks). Today, squirrel was on the menu.
Wild West Playground Nest
On Saturday, I was certain the nest had hatched at 93rd and Central Park West, but I wanted to go back today and confirm the nest had hatched. It sure has. I saw another feeding, both parents looking into the nest, the mother flying off the nest and watching it from above, and the female sitting high on the nest rather than snuggling onto the eggs. I saw all the signs to confirm it had actually hatched. The male even took food off the nest and ate it in a nearby tree.
The “action” takes place for only about ten minutes about every 90-120 minutes. But if you want to see the chicks, you’ll need to wait a week or two They’re currently too small to see from the park.
Wild West Playground Nest Hatches
We’ve been watching the nest daily to see signs of hatching. On Friday, the female was sitting high on the nest and the male visited the nest often which were positive signs. But late on Saturday afternoon, I saw a feeding on the nest which was a sign the nest had hatched. The eggs don’t hatch all at once, so there may be unhatched eggs at this point. Hopefully, we see more feedings and possible the head of an eyass by next weekend.
