High In The Sky
In the fall, raptors migrate over Central Park in great numbers when the winds are right. Last weekend, I watched hawks from the Belvedere Castle terrace. Among the raptors seen were a Broad-winged Hawk and Juvenile Bald Eagle.
Category: Eagles, Falcons, Hawks and Osprey
Central Park Hawks
Today was a nice day in Central Park. I had the two Red-tailed hawks trying to establish a nest on CPW, (now working on a nest on 322 CPW.) Then a juvenile Red-tailed Hawk on the American Museum of Natural History followed by Sharp-shinned Hawk in the Evodia Field.
My next stop was Fifth Avenue, where Octavia is now brooding. Pale Male was tending to the nest (rearranging twigs as is his habit) and she returned to the nest.
A quick walk down to Central Park South uncovered one Red-tailed hawk there. Seven hawks, not too bad for a brief afternoon visit to the park.
Randalls Island Peregrine Falcons
A nice trip to Randalls Island on Sunday yeilded the two resident Peregrine Falcons atop the center building of The Manhattan Psychiatric Center. One was on a corner and the other on a set of communications towers. The bird on the tower was banded but it was too far away to capture any numbers.
The count for the day was fairly good. 35 species with a Common Goldeneye and a Belted Kingfisher as highlights. The day had three raptor species, American Kestrel, Peregrine Falcon and Red-tailed Hawk.
| 620 | Brant |
| 406 | Canada Goose |
| 30 | Gadwall |
| 3 | American Black Duck |
| 28 | Mallard |
| 12 | Bufflehead |
| 1 | Common Goldeneye |
| 14 | Red-breasted Merganser |
| 24 | Ruddy Duck |
| 1 | Red-throated Loon |
| 1 | Double-crested Cormorant |
| 2 | Great Cormorant |
| 1 | Great Blue Heron |
| 2 | Red-tailed Hawk |
| 1 | American Coot |
| 20 | Ring-billed Gull |
| 1 | Herring Gull |
| 4 | Great Black-backed Gull |
| 45 | Rock Pigeon |
| 3 | Mourning Dove |
| 2 | Belted Kingfisher |
| 3 | American Kestrel |
| 2 | Peregrine Falcon |
| 4 | American Crow |
| 4 | Black-capped Chickadee |
| 1 | White-breasted Nuthatch |
| 14 | American Robin |
| 2 | Northern Mockingbird |
| 57 | European Starling |
| 1 | American Tree Sparrow |
| 1 | Song Sparrow |
| 2 | White-throated Sparrow |
| 1 | Dark-eyed Junco |
| 6 | Northern Cardinal |
| 15 | House Sparrow |
Another Randalls Island Day
I realized on Saturday that I haven’t spend a real day birding in a long while. I’ve been going after specific birds, but not doing a real walk counting birds for a long time.
So, I birded Randalls Island from end to end on Sunday to see what I could find. Boy, did I feel rusty. Looks like I’m going to be spending lots of time this winter doing long walks…
Photographs are of the Red-tailed Hawk pair and their nest just north of the stadium field, an American Kestrel, Brant, Black-capped Chickadee, and Red-breasted Mergansers.
The Day After Christmas
Before leaving on vacation, I made a brief visit to the park on December 26th. In my brief visit, I had a Barred Owl, a Coopers Hawk and Pale Male.
Cooper’s Hawk and then Pale Male
Despite all of time I’ve spent looking at owls, I have been keeping an eye out for Pale Male. Today, I started my birding near Pale Male’s nest. My first views were of a Cooper’s Hawk chasing some European Starlings.
Then Pale Male arrived. He broke off a tree branch and took it to the nest. He then perched a little south of the nest on a fence, then a water tank and then a railing. He kept looking south. I think his new mate may be spending her time below 72nd Street.
