Category: Eagles, Falcons, Hawks and Osprey

Eagles, Falcons, Hawks and Osprey

Park Avenue Peregrine Falcons, Part II

The Peregrine Falcon pair continue to perch on the buildings around the Waldorf-Astoria on Park Avenue.

On Friday, I saw both of them flying around the Mutual of America building, and saw one perch on the former GE building, which now belongs to Columbia University.  I was only able to get pictures of one of them on the top center of the Mutual of America building.

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On Saturday, I went looking for the Peregrines and didn’t find them.  Luckily, I ran into Ben Cacace, who showed me one in plain sight on the Mutual of America building.  Later that day, Ben found the pair copulating.  So, there may be little Peregrines on Park Avenue later this spring.

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Eagles, Falcons, Hawks and Osprey

Park Avenue Peregrine Falcons

Ben Cacace, who blogs at NYC Nova Hunter, has discovered a pair of Peregrine Falcons who hang around Park Avenue in the upper 40’s and lower 50’s.  Ben’s a fantastic birder and I’m so happy he found some Raptors close to my apartment!

A Peregrine Falcon on 299 Park Avenue, the UBS building, around 6:30 on Saturday evening.
I returned on Sunday afternoon to find the pair of falcons on 299 Park Avenue, one on the north face (on top of the light colored, vertical window washing rail at the top middle of the photograph), and one on the east face (lower right of the photograph.)
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At around 3:10 p.m. the Peregrine Falcon on the east face of 299 Park leaves and begins circling over Park Avenue.  The Peregrine circles to gain height.  It circles over the void created by Lever House’s lower section, then comes south down Park Avenue, reverses course and flies directly over the Seagram’s building.  I can’t be sure if it landed or went further, so I go to Lexington to investigate.   At 3:25 p.m. the Falcon appears from behind the Citicorp building on Lexington, circles the building twice and at 3:28 p.m. lands on the northern top edge of the Citicorp roof.

It begins to rain, so I go home.

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

Saturday at the Oven and the Fifth Avenue Nest

I started out in the area called the Oven by the Lake.

Fox Sparrow
American Woodcock.  There were five at the Oven while I was there.
American Woodcock
Pale Male landing on scaffolding at the top of a building at 72nd Street.
Pale Male on the Carlyle Hotel.
Pale Male being chased by an American Kestrel, who hit him twice.  The Kestrel seems to chase him when he’s around 78th Street.  I spent two hours on Sunday trying to locate the Kestrel without success.
927 5th Avenue Red-tailed Hawks, Eagles, Falcons, Hawks and Osprey, Other Birds

Cooper’s Hawk, Red-Tailed Hawk and American Woodcock

I started my Saturday afternoon in Central Park in the SE corner.

I walked north and found this juvenile Cooper’s Hawk among a group of crows below the Zoo.  I ended up being able to follow the juvenile, as it traveled north all the way up to the Oven, where I lost track of the hawk.
When I got to the Model Boat Pond, I could see Lola enjoying the warmth from the vent of a chimney on a building at 79th and Fifth Avenue.
The Cooper’s hawk landed in a tree directly above the hawk bench.
Cold? Just fluff up your down coat.
The Cooper’s Hawk led me to the oven, where there were two American Woodcocks along the small stream that flows into the Lake.  It was one of the few areas in the park that had some unfrozen ground.
In the fall, it’s rare to see an American Woodcock moving about.  You usually see them sitting still or flying when flushed by dogs.  In the cold weather and the snow, we had an unusual treat of seeing them feeding.  They stick their long beaks into the mud looking for food.
Lola was still on the vent, as I left the park.  The Boathouse cafe is closed for remodeling, so there was no hot chocolate to extend my stay!
Eagles, Falcons, Hawks and Osprey, Inwood Hill Park Red-tailed Hawks, Other Birds

Inwood Hill, 103rd Street and Central Park

I started the afternoon in Inwood Hill Park on Saturday.  The Urban Rangers hosted an Owl walk.  No owls were seen, but owl pellets were found and dissected.  Both kids and adults had a good time.

We didn’t see either of the Inwood Red-tails, but I did get a chance to see their nest.  I learned from a ranger that the female Inwood Red-tailed hawk had to be rescued in the fall.  She tested positive for West Nile virus, but has made a complete recovery and has been released back into the park.
This was the only raptor I saw up at Inwood was a Cooper’s Hawk.
The 103rd Street Monk Parakeets were on my way home, so I stopped by to take a look. One was on the balcony when I arrived.
The other was already inside the roost.
I then walked down to see how our 86th Street, Red-tailed Hawk was doing.  Like clockwork, after moving about for a fifteen minutes the hawk settled down for the evening.
927 5th Avenue Red-tailed Hawks, Eagles, Falcons, Hawks and Osprey, Other Birds, Other Red-tailed Hawks

Christmas Bird Count

Central Park had its 107th Annual Christmas Bird Count on Sunday.  (To accommodate various greater New York locations, the counts are held on various days before and after Christmas.)

The Count is a census which records the number of each species found in the entire park.  There are seven
teams, splitting up the park into sections, Northwest, Northeast, Reservoir, Great
Lawn, Ramble, Southwest and Southeast.  The teams all start at the South Pump House, split up to do
their section’s and then meet back at the Arsenal for lunch and the tally.

The mix of birders included all skill levels, from beginners to experts.   So, if you don’t think you’re qualified for the event, don’t worry.  Join in next year, everyone is welcome.

Marie Winn giving a portion of the Ramble team its instructions.
Our first raptor was this Cooper’s Hawk.  It keep our initial numbers down at the feeders in the Ramble, which was free of birds as long as the Cooper’s Hawk was about. 
(Most of my pictures I took were of the raptors we found.  This, however, is not representative of our day.  My photographs of the day clearly reflect my fascination with raptors, not the full range of birds we saw!)
Our second raptor was a Red-tailed Hawk by the area along the Lake called the Oven.
House Finch
Two Mute Swans
This is the same Red-tailed Hawk as seen earlier.  It looks to be Pale Male, but I can’t be certain.  The morning was cold and this bird had puffed up to stay warm making it harder to make an I.D.
Downy Woodpecker
Sleepy Raccoon
Red-tailed Hawk passing overhead.
Red-tailed Hawk just outside the park on a water tower.
One last look before going to lunch.
Lunch before the tally.
New York City Park’s Commissioner, Adrian Benepe.
After the count, I went out to look for hawks in the Great Lawn area.  I found this juvenile Red-tailed Hawk in a tree inside the Diana Ross playground at 81st and Central Park West. 
After about twenty minutes the hawk moved about 20 feet east before moving from tree to tree about 100 feet north.
Then the hawk took off and was chased by an adult hawk up to the top of the Great Lawn.
When I caught up to them, the juvenile hawk was nowhere to be found, but Pale Male was there with a pose that said, “Youngster, this is my territory.”