Highbridge Park Red-tailed Hawks Archives

May 22, 2010December 25, 2020Highbridge Park Red-tailed Hawks, Inwood Hill Park Red-tailed Hawks

Highbridge Park and Inwood Hill Park Nests

I visited the Inwood Hill and Highbridge Park nests on Saturday.

Although I saw the male briefly at Inwood Hill, I had no luck seeing how the nest was doing. The tree leaves are so filled in now, it was impossible to see the nest. The Inwood Hill hawk nest was damaged earlier this year, and hawk watchers in the park believe the female laid a second set of eggs. The behavior of the parents lead everyone to believe there are eyasses, but we may not know until they fledge!

The Highbridge nest is doing fine. When I arrived the male was in a tree about 100 yards from the nest. The nest itself has at least two eyasses, both of whom look healthy. All of the pictures are from the Highbridge nest. Just like in Inwood, dense foliage makes looking into the nest difficult.

April 18, 2010December 24, 2020Highbridge Park Red-tailed Hawks

Highbridge Park Nest Hatches

A visit today to Highbridge Park, found their nest to be active with two or three eyasses (baby hawks). Both parents were both engaged in keeping the eyasses warm and feeding them. This pair consistently has eyasses in mid-April, and they continue the tradition this year.

At the end of the video, note that the mother comes back with a wet set of chest feathers. (For those who might not believe this is Manhattan, in the video, you can see one of the Circle Line boats pass by!)

April 10, 2010December 19, 2020Highbridge Park Red-tailed Hawks

Highbridge Park Nest

This year the hawks nesting in upper Highbridge Park have moved their nest lower and a few blocks north. If you’re a good hill climber, you can get a decent look into the nest. This area seems to be a great spot for Red-tailed Hawks even though it is surrounded by highways and apartment buildings.

The female stayed on the nest the entire time I was up at the nest. Any pictures of a hawk off the nest are of the male.

April 19, 2009December 24, 2020Highbridge Park Red-tailed Hawks

Eyasses In Manhattan At Highbridge Park

I went up to Highbridge Park to see if the eggs had hatched after visiting Inwood Hill Park. (At Inwood, I saw both parents, but couldn’t tell if the chicks had hatched yet.)

After a long wait, the female got up and started feeding. The eyasses are still small, and I couldn’t get an accurate count. There is only a hint of down in one of the pictures, but the videos clearly show the feeding.

April 5, 2009December 24, 2020927 5th Avenue Red-tailed Hawks, Highbridge Park Red-tailed Hawks, Inwood Hill Park Red-tailed Hawks, Other Red-tailed Hawks, Riverside Park Red-tailed Hawks, Southern Central Park Red-tailed Hawks, Tompkins Square Red-tailed Hawks

Manhattan Nests

From north to south, we have the following confirmed nesting sites in Manhattan this year: Inwood Hill Park, Highbridge Park (back to the old location, which should be safer than last year’s location), Lower Riverside Park (also in a new and safer location), Fifth Avenue and 888 Seventh Avenue. I visited all of them this weekend. They all seem to be in good shape, with chicks expected within the next few weeks.

Some nests have changed from last year.

There is no sign of a nest below 14th Street, although there have been reports of hawks downtown all winter, including Tompkins Square Park, the World Trade Center construction site, the Court Houses around Center Street, Seward Park, Washington Square Park and the Greenway.

Last year’s nest on Houston Street is not being used again this year. The male from last year’s nest died of Fronce and while hawks have been seen on the Lower East Side all winter, no signs of a new nest has been found.

The St. John the Divine’s pair have both been seen recently but further uptown. Construction continues on the church and they may have moved but no one has found a new nest location. This one is a real mystery.

The Shepard Hall, City College nest looks bigger according to reports, but nest looks unoccupied. The hawks may be nesting somewhere nearby.

Here are pictures of four nests from this weekend:

Inwood Hill Park

Highbridge Park

Lower Riverside Drive

Fifth Avenue

March 14, 2009December 25, 2020927 5th Avenue Red-tailed Hawks, Eagles, Falcons, Hawks and Osprey, Highbridge Park Red-tailed Hawks, Inwood Hill Park Red-tailed Hawks, Other Red-tailed Hawks, Riverside Park Red-tailed Hawks, Southern Central Park Red-tailed Hawks, Tompkins Square Red-tailed Hawks

Riverside and Broadway

I spent the early afternoon looking at the Riverside Red-tailed Hawk pair on Saturday. There nest is just off the Hudson River near 8st Street and looks great. Last year they laid eggs around mid-March, so the female should start sitting on the nest soon.

Other nests in Manhattan are doing well. Inwood Hill Park, Highbridge Park, St. John the Divine and 5th Avenue nests are doing fine. The Highbridge nest is back to its old spot.

The Central Park South pair is still there but I don’t have any details about their nest. The Houston female lost her mate last year, and may be nesting on the ConEd plant around 14th Street. The pair that was around the City College campus remains a mystery.

Sightings of hawks this winter around the north end of Riverside Park and around the Court House buildings on Center Street make these locations possibilities for new nests this year.

When leaving Riverside Park, check out the American Kestrels that have a scrape at 80th and Broadway. One of them is usually on the building south of Zabar’s or on the church at 79th and Broadway.