If Lola and Pale Male’s eggs are going to hatch, it will be sometime this week. While this would normally be a feverish time at the nest, after years of failed nests, expectations are low and there are no crowds of hawk watchers at the nest.
Tonight, it was a fairly standard nest exchange. No sign yet of a hatching.
Pale Male cached food for Lola in a tree on Cedar Hill late on Sunday. She was eager to eat it, leaving the nest before Pale Male arrived to take over egg sitting duties! He settled in quickly afterward, so the eggs were in no danger of getting cold.
She came back to the nest after eating, but didn’t settle down right away but flew off, only to return a few minutes later and take over egg sitting duties.
From north to south, we have the following confirmed nesting sites in Manhattan this year: Inwood Hill Park, Highbridge Park (back to the old location, which should be safer than last year’s location), Lower Riverside Park (also in a new and safer location), Fifth Avenue and 888 Seventh Avenue. I visited all of them this weekend. They all seem to be in good shape, with chicks expected within the next few weeks.
Some nests have changed from last year.
There is no sign of a nest below 14th Street, although there have been reports of hawks downtown all winter, including Tompkins Square Park, the World Trade Center construction site, the Court Houses around Center Street, Seward Park, Washington Square Park and the Greenway.
Last year’s nest on Houston Street is not being used again this year. The male from last year’s nest died of Fronce and while hawks have been seen on the Lower East Side all winter, no signs of a new nest has been found.
The St. John the Divine’s pair have both been seen recently but further uptown. Construction continues on the church and they may have moved but no one has found a new nest location. This one is a real mystery.
The Shepard Hall, City College nest looks bigger according to reports, but nest looks unoccupied. The hawks may be nesting somewhere nearby.
Here are pictures of four nests from this weekend:
I watched the nest at dusk on Friday and for about half an hour Saturday afternoon.
On Friday, Pale Male brought prey to Lola. He stopped twice while taking it up to the nest. Once on a balcony on a building a block south of the nest and once on a ledge on a building north of the nest. The prey was a bird. Once he got to the nest, Lola switched off and ate on a terrace a few blocks away. After about half an hour she returned to the nest and Pale Male exchanged places with her on the eggs. He then went off to the terrace to see if their were leftovers.
On Saturday, the “boys on the hawk bench”, were kind enough to point out a new perch for Pale Male, on top of the building just to the north of nest. They’re doing construction by the water tower which has a large scaffold with a tarp around it. He likes to sit on the upper right hand corner on days there are no construction workers.
Below is a split shot of Lola and Pale Male’s nest, the left is from last year and the right is from a few days ago. Both were taken in March. It looks like the nest is now an inch or two higher. Cross your fingers for a positive outcome this year!
Lola is sitting on eggs, on her 5th Avenue nest. The nest looks to be about an inch higher than last year. A great sign the birds are responding to the renovations of the nest in 2008. Let’s wish them well this year!
I was birding in the Ramble, when I saw Pale Male circle the nest with food in his talons. When I arrived, he had already left it on a nearby terrace and Lola and he had switched off. He warmed the eggs while she eat.
Here are some pictures of her eating and a short movie of her return to the nest.
