Red-shouldered Hawk
A Red-shouldered Hawk, a close cousin to our resident Red-tailed Hawks was in the Ramble of Central Park on Tuesday. November is a great time to look for unusual raptors in the park and this was a nice find.
Category: Eagles, Falcons, Hawks and Osprey
American Woodcock and Osprey
I was away for about a week in Florida at a family reunion, so I missed the Barred Owl and two Great Horned Owls that had been in the Ramble of Central Park. On the off chance they might have still been around, I went to look for them without success.
However, I did get to see an American Woodcock and thanks to the kindness of Charlotte Khoo, who came and found me to tell me about it an Osprey perched in a tree by Balancing Rock, just up the path from the Loeb Boathouse.
El Dorado Peregine Falcon
I haven’t seen a Peregrine Falcon on the El Dorado since the spring, so it was a nice surprise to see one on Saturday afternoon on various perches on the north tower. It was just finishing eating a Rock Pigeon when I first saw it.
Darien Osprey 2022
I usually don’t get to see this nest this late in the season. The young Osprey had fledged and were having a great time exploring the small island their nest is on. The parents were feeding them on the nest but also on the rocks below the nest.
86th and West End Peregrine Fledglings
A brief visit to 86th and West End had lots of action late in the afternoon on Friday. When I first arrived two fledglings were on the corner on the top floor of 535 West End Avenue. One flew off and then there are lots of flights back and forth by fledglings and much higher, the parents. At some point, two of the fledglings ended up on the church tower, with one of them eventually flying off to 555 West End Avenue. The 555 WEA railing the Peregrine Falcon was sitting on belongs to a penthouse currently listing for $42 Million!
Go West
After searching around 86th and West End Avenue for the Peregrine Falcon fledglings, I decided to go over to Riverside Drive, where the parents often are seen during the winter.
After watching butterflies and stomping on a Spotted Lanternfly nymph, I found one of the fledglings in a tree at 88th and Riverside, just inside the park. It was the first time I’ve seen any member of the family in a tree and not on a building!
I then heard an American Robin alarm call from near the Soldiers’ and Sailors’ Monument. At first I couldn’t find any fledglings, but eventually found two on the western side, and one on the eastern side.
There were some high flights in addition to the much lower perches of the fledglings. I couldn’t tell if it was the parents or the fledglings. I did find one fledgling on a building roof at 89th and Riverside and I found two fledglings later in the afternoon on the Normandy Apartments.
