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.

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.

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.

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.

Just like my last visit, Octavia was providing shade for the eyasses most of the time.  However there was a brief feeding and we did get to see Pale Male deal with a pesky Northern Mockingbird on the Carlyle Hotel.  The eyasses wings are now a solid color, while just a few days ago they were a mix of new feathers and downy fuzz.