A weekend out of the city, brought me to an Osprey Nest on Long Island Sound. I had seen signs of the nest having nestlings the last time I was out, but now in late July the nest had two fledglings flying about. Osprey have made a fantastic recovery from DDT, and I counted eight Osprey in the cove where the nest is at one point.

As in years past, the Riverside Church Peregrine Falcon fledglings have moved to the Interchurch Center, a block south of the church. I saw at least three of the fledglings and both parents on the building. The parents also perched on the church.

(One of the fledglings was found on the ground over the weekend and was sent to the Wild Bird Fund. I don’t any more details.)

I arrived at the church to absolute quiet. I didn’t see any of the falcons. But after about ten minutes, I got to see three young falcons on the nest, and then two food deliveries.

I also saw the parents try to get the fledglings to chase after them in order to get prey the parents were holding.

Much to my surprise I spotted a domestic pigeon on the church tower. I wasn’t the only one who spotted it. A parent went after the pigeon, missed getting it on the building but then gave chase. I wasn’t able to see the outcome, but I would don’t think it was positive for the pigeon.

After visiting the 102nd Street and Riverside Drive Red-tailed Hawk, I took the M5 bus up to Riverside Church. I was greeted by the sounds of five hungry Peregrine Falcons. One of the parents brought food just as I arrived and then two more times. All the prey looked to be feral Rock Pigeons.

After about thirty minutes, much to my surprise there was a fledgling on a lower level of the church tower at the same level as the roof. (It didn’t seem to be banded like the other young birds. Maybe it avoided capture earlier in the season.) At first I wasn’t sure if it was a fledgling or had just fallen out down from the nest but soon I saw it flying. It flew very well and went to a spot just below the nest.

The parents have a ledge where they prepare pigeons to be eaten by their offspring. They remove the wings and remove larger feathers. While a parent was doing this, the fledgling took the food from the adult.

The action should only get better later this week. When everyone has fledged there will be a few days of food exchanges and all kinds of fun. I would recommend making a visit if you live on the Upper West Side.

I was visiting friends in Darien, Connecticut and their Osprey nest had just hatched. This year was interesting because two new Osprey are trying to settle into the same cove. It was the first time I had seen another Osprey harass this pair. Osprey have now recovered so well from DDT, that in New England there is now contention for nestling locations.

I arrived on a Thursday, and I could see that the parent’s behavior had adjusted from brooding to rearing the young. The female was up higher than normal and I saw a feeding. But it wasn’t until Sunday that I saw a small head peaking up.