Eagles, Falcons, Hawks and Osprey Archives - Page 33 of 43

December 4, 2009December 17, 2020Eagles, Falcons, Hawks and Osprey, Other Red-tailed Hawks, Owls

Déjà vu

My experiences on Friday, had the three same birds, a Cooper’s Hawk, a Red-tailed Hawk and Eastern-Screech Owls, as I had last Sunday.

The Cooper’s Hawk had a full crop and perched in the same spot for over an hour, west of the Wildflower Meadow. Another birder had found the Cooper’s Hawk and we went through all of the I.D. helpers listed in Kenn Kaufman’s Advanced Birding chapter on The Accipiters. Variances between a perched Cooper’s Hawk and Sharp-shinned, include size, tail shape and size of white band at the tip, eye placement and relative size, blackish cap on the Cooper’s vs. a more uniform color that extends to the neck on the Sharp-shinned. It was a fun discussion.

The Red-tail was closer to the Pool side of the Loch, and then flew off to the northwestern edge of the North Meadow. It continued on towards the south, and may be one of the hawks that has also been seen in the 90’s on Central Park West. It would be great if a pair of hawks built a nest in the North Meadow again. This would be a great time for a pair to try. With the “Cathedral” pair having shifted their territory in a more northerly direction, now would be the time for a new pair to claim the northern end of the park.

The Eastern-Screech Owls were seen after we had given up finding them. Both owls were in low brush and hard to spot, but the male ended up flying up to bright light by a roadway. He’s usually shy, so it was great to see him out in the open. Our hunt for their winter cavities continues, without any success.

December 2, 2009December 24, 2020Eagles, Falcons, Hawks and Osprey, Other Birds

Winter Hawks

All over New York City, wintering hawks are establishing themselves in various parks. I’ve received emails about hawks on the Upper East Side, down in Washington Square Park, and Riverside Park in Manhattan, as well as other locations in Queens and Brooklyn.

This Cooper’s Hawk seems to have settled into the Loch in Central Park, and looks like it might stay the winter.

November 29, 2009December 19, 2020Eagles, Falcons, Hawks and Osprey, Other Red-tailed Hawks, Owls

Red-tails, Cooper’s and Screech-Owls

I walked up from the mid-70s to the North Woods to look for Screech-Owls and came along some interesting diversions along the way. On a building at 89th Street and Central Park West was a Red-tailed Hawk. This section of the park, west of the Reservoir, usually has a Red-tailed guest during the winter. To my surprise there were two Red-tailed Hawks, something I’m not used to seeing here.

Then while waiting for it to get dark, a Cooper’s Hawk dove into the Loch. It caught a squirrel and ate it. It’s the first time I’ve seen a Cooper’s Hawk with a squirrel.

Lastly, I was able to see and hear both of the North Woods resident Eastern Screech-Owls. They’ve switched roosts, so we felt lucky to find them.

On the way out of the park, I saw that the Lasker Pool is now the Lasker Rink! Another sign of the changing seasons.

November 28, 2009December 24, 2020Eagles, Falcons, Hawks and Osprey

Cooper’s Hawk

The North Woods of Central Park were very quiet on Saturday afternoon. I had gone looking for Eastern Screech-Owls, who become harder to find this time of year, as they switch from tree top roost to cavity roosts. The owls gave me the slip and I didn’t hear them after dark.

The best bird I saw was this Cooper’s Hawk hunting along the Loch.

November 7, 2009December 24, 2020927 5th Avenue Red-tailed Hawks, Eagles, Falcons, Hawks and Osprey

Saturday Hawks

On Saturday, I had a Cooper’s Hawk in the Ramble. It was easy to find because of a group of Blue Jays, and the lack of any birds eating at the feeders!

And of course, the required photographs of Pale Male and Lola, as well.

September 8, 2009December 27, 2020Eagles, Falcons, Hawks and Osprey, Owls

Sharp-shinned Hawk and Eastern Screech-Owl

While leaving the Wildflower Meadow, I flushed an immature Sharp-shinned Hawk by accident. I was able to watch its wing beats and see its tail shape to confirm it was a Sharp-shinned, rather than a Cooper’s Hawk. It was just another reminder that summer was almost over. The light was already starting to fail, so the pictures aren’t that great.

It was great to see something completely unexpected. Migrations season can be like that. You think you know what to expect and then you’ll see something unusual.

I did get to see one of the Eastern Screech-Owls in their roost tree. They really seem to have settled down again now that most of the tree removal work is done.