One of the eyasses at the 86th and West End Peregrine Falcon nest wouldn’t stop crying for food today. It just cried and cried. However, it looked as though it had a full crop, so it seemed like it was crying for no good reason!
The adult male was on guard duty while I was there, although he did hunt a number of times. He caught a pigeon, but the bird escaped from him before he could kill it.
As I was packing up all four eyasses were visible.
The Peregrine Falcon eyasses at 86th and West End are starting to look better each day. They’ve lost almost all of their downy feathers and they are starting to look like they will be ready to fledge soon. I think the tails seem a bit short but other than that they look good.
A few of them also stated to perch rather than sit, and have begun to exercise their wings. I’m amazed at how fast they can flap their wings. It seems about twice as fast as a Red-tailed Hawk eyass.
I got up early to see if I could catch a feeding of the youngsters, but they had already been fed when I arrived. I think I have to get there before dawn to catch it.
I did get to watch a parent eat a pigeon and see a few of the eyasses however. They’ve lost most of their downy feathers and are looking a lot less awkward.
While I got to see the whole family today, when I was at the nest things were quiet. There were no visits from the parents and the eyasses were fairly mellow. I guess I had beginner’s luck yesterday when I caught all four eyasses together and a feeding.
My timing was just right today at 86th and West End Avenue. It looks like 4:30 to 6:30 pm, is the time to watch the nest. I got to see all four Peregrine Falcon eyasses clearly for the first time and got to see my first feeding.
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.
