I’ve had the hardest time catching up with the 93rd Street fledglings. I’ve seen the parents but rarely the fledglings. This is typical of hawk watching. As the fledglings become more accustomed to their surroundings and begin to learn to hunt on their own, their range increases. And for a few weeks, it was too hot to look for them!
I did find one of them high on a new building on the north side of 96th Street on the 19th of July.
The 93rd Street Red-tailed Hawk fledglings have moved north of the 96th Street Transverse, to the Recreation Center and the North Meadow in the last week. The Recreation Center is under construction and is fenced off, giving them a human and dog free playground after the construction crews have left.
On Wednesday evening, we had a bit of trouble finding the fledglings. We found one north of the Recreation Center. It ended up going all around the Recreation Center before exploring the western side of the North Meadow. This is the same area, Flaco, the Eurasian Eagle-Owl hunted in last summer, and like Flaco the hawk perched on a tractor.
One of the parents arrived with a Brown Rat, and a fledgling that looked to have already eaten joined them on a backstop. But the parent must of wanted to feed on of the other fledglings, and flew south.
On Thursday afternoon, all three of the fledglings were on the roof to the Recreation Center. They soon explored the trees and fences and as I was leaving one of the parents brought in a rodent.
I’m sad to report that at the 102nd/Riverside nest one of the fledglings was found on the ground, emaciated and covered in flies a few days ago. It was transported to the Wild Bird Fund, but passed away the next day.
As one would expect, the 93rd Street Fledgling have been expanding their range and are now exploring the area around the Central Park tennis courts. The parents and the fledgling can often be found back near the nest but the are favoring the tennis courts.
When I arrived one fledgling was on the north side of the courts being harassed by Blue Jays. The fledgling moved to a number of trees, but the harassment continued. Finally the fledgling went to a tree above the tennis center building. It joined its other two siblings.
Two of them decided to fly around the courts, chasing each other. Its always a joy to watch fledgling who were at first very timid about flying mastering flying.
I made two quick visits to the two Central Park nest location, 93rd/CPW and the NYAC. It was very quiet and I only could one fledgling at each location and the mother at 93rd/CPW.
This is typical as we move into June. The fledglings become harder and harder to locate.
I had a wonderful time catching up with the 93rd Street fledglings on Sunday night. Unlike the southern end of the park at the NYAC, this section of the part is quiet and peaceful. The fledgling were flying around in trees close to the nest, as were the parents.
I think all three young hawks have fledged but there is a small chance one is still just branching in the nest tree. It wasn’t clear as both parents and more than one fledgling made stops on the nest tree.
This location really is an ideal starting point for the fledglings lives. There are lots of great trees in a quiet area to explore. Two of the fledglings are staying close to each other. Sharing branches and flying after each other as they move around in different trees. They’re rather cute buddies.
I arrived this afternoon at the 93rd and Central Park West/Wild West Playground nest to find the fledgling had returned to the top of the nest tree. He had flown back to the tree at some point!
One eyass was on the nest and after some searching I found the other eyass partially hidden having branched about 15 feet up. It’s always comforting to account for all of the youngsters. So, I was happy to have found all of them.
Soon both parents came in and perched next to each other. They seemed to know the next stage of child rearing was about to begin.
