Despite a bit of rain, I had good luck photographing the Peregrine Falcons on the Upper West Side today. The eyasses were cooperative, making a few appearances and the parents were visible on building on both West End Avenue and 86th Street.
It’s fascinating that the Peregrines are nesting in a fairly low tower and in an area that isn’t adjacent to a park. But I guess if you take your prey in the air, the falcons just need lots of birds and don’t need a park.
While roof access to a nearby building gives you the best views of the nest, the eyasses are now exploring the outside ledges of the tower and are large enough, that you can have a good experience watching them from the street.
You’ll need to be patient, but a few hours of viewing should get you a view of both parents and a few of the eyasses. If you have a spotting scope, I would recommend bringing it with you.
The adult female is banded on both legs and is larger than the adult male who is not banded. She’s bulkier. I often use the analogy of Linebacker vs. Tight End, to explain the difference, but I learned yesterday that not everyone watches football. Maybe Weight Lifter vs. Runner is a better way of explaining the difference. Male falcons are called tercels. Etymologist think this might be because medieval falconers recognized males were a third smaller.
Nest Location
N – Scrape and Nesting Area. The nesting area is on the SW tower of the St. Paul & St. Andrew United Methodist Church. The top of the tower has tall arches. At the base of the arches is a ledge on the outside and a slightly curved roof area inside. The eyasses use all of this space. Depending on the time of day, they can be hidden from the street. I’ve found that late in the afternoon, you can usually see one on the SE side of the tower, but have had luck seeing them on the north side early in the afternoon. Since the parents perch on the south side of 86th Street, when the eyasses are hungry, they tend to move to the SE side of the tower.
Viewing Spots
1 – The eastbound M86 Street Bus Stop, on the SW corner of 86th and Broadway, is a good spot to watch the nest. It is up a hill and has a good sightline. You can also see two of the parents common perches (A & B).
2 – The NW corner of 86th and Broadway is a better spot to watch the parents but has a more restricted view of the nest.
3 – In the early afternoon, I’ve had good luck watching from 88th and West End Avenue.
4 – There is a view of the nest from 85th and West End Avenue, but it is rare to see the eyasses from this vantage point.
Peregrine Falcon Perches
A – You will usually see one of the parents protecting the nest from either of the railings on the top floor of the northern façade of 530 West End Avenue, at the SE corner of 86th and West End. But also keep track of the ledges on the top two floors of this building. The parents also use these ledges, especially to prepare food before bringing it to the nest.
B – Especially when they’re hunting they sometimes use the top corner of 257 West 86th Street on the north side of 86th and a ledge a few floors down.
C – The parents often use perches on the top of the highest windows on 575 West End Avenue at 88th and West End Avenue.
I made a second visit to the Peregrine Falcon nest at 86th Street and West End Avenue today to see what was visible from the street. I got to see both parents and two eyasses early in the afternoon on the north side of the nest from 88th Street, and later in the day two eyasses on the southeast side. I was hoping to see a feeding but a late afternoon thunderstorm cut my viewing time short.
The 86th and West End Peregrine Falcon’s nesting area has been found on the SW tower of the St. Paul & St. Andrew United Methodist Church. There are four eyasses (young falcons) on the tower.
The nesting area is on a large flat area that looks to have once had a skylight inside, which is now covered with roofing paper, and a ledge that wraps around the outside. The eyasses have a huge area to explore. On the outer edge there is netting to keep loose stone from falling to the street. This netting is acting as a guardrail for the eyasses. The large covered area allows the eyasses to stay dry in the rain.
It isn’t clear where on this large area the scrape (falcons make a shallow bowl in gravel as a nesting area) was located. Something to figure out in 2023.
The adult female is the same one as last year, with the 77 over BV, black over green with white lettering band. She was born on the Du Bois Library, at the University of Massachusetts, Amherst, and banded that year, in 2019.
I was very windy this afternoon, which bounced my camera all over the place, so the quality of the images isn’t what I would have liked. However, I was able to salvage some footage, and some stills.
On a snowy day, made my first stop Riverside Drive and 86th Street to see the Peregrine Falcons who have been perching on the Normandy. They were both there, but also a wonderful American Kestrel who was camped out in from of two bushed with about 40 White-throated Sparrows and House Sparrows. The Peregrines came and left, and in the late afternoon both moved to West End Avenue.
I then went to Central Park, making a brief visit to the Reservoir and then to see the Great Horned Owl that has been in the park. It’s important to see and owl on SuperB Owl Sunday.
The West End Peregrine Falcons were on both towers of The Normandy at 86th and Riverside Drive this afternoon.
