I visited the Rockefeller Preserve on Saturday and got to see a fun American Kestrel vs. Red-tailed Hawk show. It was all about territory protection. The Kestrel was protecting its family’s territory. The family seemed to be two adults and two juveniles.
Before I went on vacation, I went by and saw the freshly hatched eyasses nesting on the Astoria side of the RFK Bridge. I finally got back to see how they were doing on Saturday. The two of them looked great.
They look healthy and very grown up. Their tails need to grow in before they’ll be flying off, but they’ll be leaving the nest soon.
I got my first glimpse of a RFK Bridge nest eyass this evening. From the feeding behavior of the mother, there are at least two eyasses. My guess is two, but it’s too early to tell for sure. It’s a strange season, when a new eyass is seen the same day as a fledge!
Earlier this spring, the Astoria female died due to poisoning while she was sitting on her nest. Within a few days, the male found a new mate and they laid a fresh set of eggs.
While we can’t see the hatchlings yet, based on the behavior of the mother, it looks like they have hatched. We’ll know how many there are in a few days.
The two surviving eyasses at the Unisphere in Corona Flushing Meadows Park are doing well. They look ready to fledge. For information about what happened earlier this season, see Peter Richer’s Queens Raptor blog.
An immature hawk was eating dinner in the Wildflower Meadow (northern Central Park), early Tuesday evening.
