El Dorado Peregrine Falcons
I was happy to see the pair perched near each other on the north tower on Thursday.
Category: Eagles, Falcons, Hawks and Osprey
El Dorado Peregrine Falcons
The single Peregrine Falcon that I saw for most of the winter has been seen with a mate for a few weeks. I’ve had two friends tell me the news, and I saw what was most likely this pair flying around the Annenburg Building of Mount Sinai but this was the first time I saw them perched.
One was at the base of the top most portion of the North Tower, and one was on the AC unit they like to use to eat.
Neighborhood Watch With The Barred Owl
Tonight the Barred Owl used the time after fly out to do a “neighborhood watch” and investigate two roosting raptors, a Cooper’s Hawk and a Red-tailed Hawk. The juvenile Cooper’s Hawk decided to fly out of its Spruce tree roost, but the Red-tailed Hawk stayed put. After investigating the neighbors, the owl went back to its normal woods. Sadly, these encounters were impossible to photograph.
Central Barred Owl And Other Raptors
While I wasn’t able to film the encounters, I tonight was the first time I noticed the Barred Owl investigating roosting hawks. It stopped by a roosting Cooper’s Hawk, who I heard call. And then I saw it in the same tree of a Red-tailed Hawk who also called.
The evening was also the conjuction of Jupiter and Saturn, which I was able to watch from the top of the path near the Polish Statue around 80th Street.
Governors Island
I went out to see the Red-tailed Hawk family on Governors Island today, and got to see the parents and at least one fledgling. Folks have reported seeing two fledgling, but I haven’t seen them together yet. Hopefully, I’ll see both at the same time the next time I go out to the island.
One of the parents was hanging out near Fort Jay in various trees only about 15 feet high. It seemed unusual but might be a defense against the American Kestrels (one is in the video and the photographs below) and Fish Crows that hang out around Fort Jay.
The fledgling was all over the place, at the weathervane, on the communications tower (where the nest is located), flying around Fort Jay and even circling in the sky.
Another Three Raptor Day
Central Park has been very quiet this winter. Birds number are low, and many of our standard winter species are hard to find. But three species of raptors, are consistently being seen, Red-tailed Hawks, Cooper’s Hawks and Peregrine Falcons.
The park has a number of Cooper’s Hawks, mostly juveniles spending the winter. On Friday, two were working the Evodia Field feeders. One of them caught a sparrow. While eating it, the other tried to steal the food without success.
On my way north, I ran into Pale Male sunning outside the Maintenance bathrooms. Central Park had no fledglings last year. The pair at 95th Street/CPW lost their young about two weeks after they hatched and the adult female died. Pale Male and Octavia, who were not seen copulating last year, did not have their eggs hatch. And the pair on the San Remo, laid eggs without a nest yet again.
So, it will be interesting to see what happens this year. There definitely are three adult pairs of hawks in the park, with possibly a forth (59th and Fifth Avenue) or fifth pair (north of Mount Sinai). After Valentine’s Day, we should be seeing lots of copulation and nest building activity. Let’s hope we have at least one successful pair this year. Keep an eye out for activity over the next eight weeks.
Further north, the lone Peregrine Falcon that has been on the El Dorado, was there yet again.
