Category: Eagles, Falcons, Hawks and Osprey

927 5th Avenue Red-tailed Hawks, Eagles, Falcons, Hawks and Osprey, Other Birds, Other Red-tailed Hawks

Sunday Around The Great Lawn

Lola was on the Beresford when I looked for her early on Sunday afternoon.

She was looking down at something, so I went to look for it.  I was hoping for a Long-Eared Owl, but found this…
…young hawk.
I then saw Pale Male at the bottom of the Great Lawn.  He switched trees a few times.
Here he’s taking off to fly to another tree.
A scratch.
We had a number of “intruders”, including a Cooper’s Hawk, American Kestrel and this Turkey Vulture.
Pale Male on one of the baseball backstops.
Pale Male on the MET.
Pale Male was found to be on his favorite MET security camera.  He soon flew off, towards Turtle Pond.
While watching for owls, the first year hawk came by.
It ended up in a tree for the night in what I call the DMZ.  The zone between the Central Park South hawks and Pale Male and Lola.
Enjoy the winter in Central Park, but remember you’re going to be kicked out come spring by the old folks!
Eagles, Falcons, Hawks and Osprey, Other Birds, Other Red-tailed Hawks

Pelham Bay Park Landfill

Sunday, I spent mid-day in Pelham Bay Park in the Bronx.  It’s at the end of the 6 Subway Line, which is an easy but long ride from Manhattan. Long Island Sound basically ends at the park, which makes it a perfect magnet for birds migrating from New England.

Once a year, the Urban Park Rangers lead a hawk watching tour of the landfill which is normally closed to visitors.  This year’s tour ended up being a perfect day for hawk watching.  The weather was nice, and the wind was steady and from a northwesterly direction.  We ended up having hawks in view the entire time we were on the landfill, which is highly unusual.  Needless to say, I had a great time.

The view from the top of the Landfill.

The landfill is a large hill.  It is the highest point in the area giving us a great view, plus it creates updrafts for the hawks and falcons.

We ended up seeing many Red-tailed Hawks (seven were in the air at once), American Kestrels (at least four), Northern Harriers (at least two), Osprey (two, not photographed) and one possible Sharp-shinned hawk.

Red-tailed Hawk
Red-tailed Hawks
Red-tailed Hawk
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Red-tailed Hawk
Red-tailed Hawk and aircraft.
Red-tailed Hawk
Red-tailed Hawk
Red-tailed Hawk
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Red-tailed Hawk hovering.
There were at least two American Kestrel pairs on the landfill.  Two were seen on the barb-wire cages that surround the methane gas vents.  Needless to say the fences have large signs saying “No Smoking”.
American Kestrel
American Kestrel Hovering.
American Kestrel Hovering.
American Kestrel Hovering.
American Kestrel Hovering.
Immature North Harrier
My guess is that this is an accipiter.  Based on the size, it is was likely to be a Sharp-shinned Hawk but this is only a guess.
Reverse view of the same unidentified hawk.
As we were leaving the landfill I commented how nice it would be if a hawk landed on the Bronx Victory Memorial.  A few minutes later my wish came true!
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As we returned to the Ranger Station, a juvenile Red-tailed hawk landed on a tree 15 feet from the station.
I was able to follow it for about an hour.  It hunted along the edge of the highway, in a playground, and on top of a stadium light.  The hunting attempts weren’t successful, but I think the young hawk was practicing rather than giving it the full effort.
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A scratch
It moved from tree to tree making a hunting attempt each time.
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Here it is in a bush after trying for a mouse in a playground.
It then went after the Monk Parakeets of Pelham Bay Park, which use the stadium lights of the running track.
The Monk Parakeets were safely one stadium light tower away from the hawk.  But they sure made a racket.
The hawk takes a few looks, moves around a bit and then flies away.
Circling to gain height.
And within minutes is gone from view.

I returned to Manhattan with a detour into Central Park, where I found…

… Lola on the Beresford…
…and Pale Male was in a new spot near his regular roosting tree.
Eagles, Falcons, Hawks and Osprey, Other Birds

2nd Annual Shorebird Festival at Jamaica Bay Wildlife Refuge

On Saturday, the 2nd Annual Shorebird Festival at Jamaica Bay Wildlife Refuge was held.  It was a joint presentation of NYC Audubon and the American Littoral Society.  About 80 birders were in attendance.

The group out on the East Pond.
Kevin Karlson led the walk and gave a lecture in the afternoon.  His latest book is about birding by impression – size, and shape rather than field marks.  It is a good method, but I’ll need to buy his book to get the hang of it.
Here he talked about using body size to differentiate between a Greater and Lesser Yellow Legs.
I’m too new to get my shorebird I.D.s correct but here are some pictures to enjoy.
Semipalmated Pover
Wilson’s Phalarope (Immature)
Wilson’s Phalarope (Immature)
Wilson’s Phalarope (Immature)
Wilson’s Phalarope (Immature)
Wilson’s Phalarope (Immature)
Wilson’s Phalarope (Immature)
Merlin
Merlin
Merlin
Eastern Phoebe
Eastern Phoebe’s flip side
Eagles, Falcons, Hawks and Osprey, Other Birds, Southern Central Park Red-tailed Hawks

High Above Opposite Ends Of The Park

I birded both ends of Central Park on Saturday.   Up north, there were Snowy Egrets flying south.  The fall migration has started and the species list on NYC Bird Report has warblers, ducks and other birds that haven’t been seen since the spring.

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Down at the southern end of the park one of the 888 Seventh Avenue Red-tailed Hawk parents was on the upper right hand corner of the Essex House sign.
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An American Kestrel came by to give the Red-tailed Hawk a hard time, but didn’t actually come too close before…
heading north into the park.
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Eagles, Falcons, Hawks and Osprey, Other Birds

Jamaica Bay Wildlife Refuge

On Saturday, I took a NYC Audbon trip to the Jamaica Bay Wildlife Refuge.  The trip was led by Don Riepe, who did a wonderful job.  Audubon provided a bus, so the trip was easy.  After leaving the Manhattan Audubon office, our first stop was the Jamaica Bay Wildlife Refuge’s West Pond, followed by the East Pond and then a visit to Fort Tilden before returning to Manhattan.

An easy walk from the visitor’s center is an Osprey nest on the West Pond.  The 2007 kids had already left.  These are the adults.
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This is a second nest on the other side of the West Pond.
A tree filled with both Snowy and Great Egrets.
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Great Egret
Northern Mockingbird
Glossy Ibis
Glossy Ibis
An assortment of Sandpipers.
Immature Yellow-crowned Night-Heron
Immature Yellow-crowned Night-Heron
Yellow-crowned Night-Heron
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We then visited the East Pond, stopping first at a blind.  There we saw a Black-crowned Night-Heron and…
… a Little Blue Heron
Then it was off to the East Pond.  Here’s a Gull.  (Still learning how to I.D. them.)
Great Blue Heron (left) and Black-crowned Night-Heron (right)
Immature Peregrine Falcon.  This is the first time I’ve seen one on the ground!
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A bridge near Fort Tilden, where the center gun turret was converted into a Peregrine Falcon nest site.  It might have been the birthplace of the Peregrine Falcon seen on the East Pond.
Barn Swallows at Fort Tilden.
Sanderlings on the right.

It was a fun day.  The trip had a full range of birders, from the beginner to the advanced.  Don Riepe, did a great job of keeping everyone interested and kept us out of the Poison Ivy too!  NYC Audubon has a full calender of events throughout the year.  The current schedule can be found on their website, www.nycaudubon.org.