Other Red-tailed Hawks Archives - Page 15 of 29

December 20, 2009December 19, 2020Eagles, Falcons, Hawks and Osprey, Other Birds, Other Red-tailed Hawks

Christmas Bird Count

The annual Christmas Bird Count was held in Central Park. The snow storm had tapered off just in time for a nice morning in the park.

Counting in fresh snow was good exercise, although it kept the count numbers down. I birded the Northwest. Highlights included a female Wood Duck and a Great Blue Heron (most likely the same bird Jack Meyer saw earlier in the week on the Lake). Our group had two raptor species, a Cooper’s Hawk and a pair of Red-tailed Hawks.

An unusual species for the count was a Turkey Vulture, with multiple fly overs the park. Speculation was that heavy snow forced the vultures south. The Riverside Park count even had a Bald Eagle. So the weather was a mixed blessing.

December 4, 2009December 17, 2020Eagles, Falcons, Hawks and Osprey, Other Red-tailed Hawks, Owls

Déjà vu

My experiences on Friday, had the three same birds, a Cooper’s Hawk, a Red-tailed Hawk and Eastern-Screech Owls, as I had last Sunday.

The Cooper’s Hawk had a full crop and perched in the same spot for over an hour, west of the Wildflower Meadow. Another birder had found the Cooper’s Hawk and we went through all of the I.D. helpers listed in Kenn Kaufman’s Advanced Birding chapter on The Accipiters. Variances between a perched Cooper’s Hawk and Sharp-shinned, include size, tail shape and size of white band at the tip, eye placement and relative size, blackish cap on the Cooper’s vs. a more uniform color that extends to the neck on the Sharp-shinned. It was a fun discussion.

The Red-tail was closer to the Pool side of the Loch, and then flew off to the northwestern edge of the North Meadow. It continued on towards the south, and may be one of the hawks that has also been seen in the 90’s on Central Park West. It would be great if a pair of hawks built a nest in the North Meadow again. This would be a great time for a pair to try. With the “Cathedral” pair having shifted their territory in a more northerly direction, now would be the time for a new pair to claim the northern end of the park.

The Eastern-Screech Owls were seen after we had given up finding them. Both owls were in low brush and hard to spot, but the male ended up flying up to bright light by a roadway. He’s usually shy, so it was great to see him out in the open. Our hunt for their winter cavities continues, without any success.

November 29, 2009December 19, 2020Eagles, Falcons, Hawks and Osprey, Other Red-tailed Hawks, Owls

Red-tails, Cooper’s and Screech-Owls

I walked up from the mid-70s to the North Woods to look for Screech-Owls and came along some interesting diversions along the way. On a building at 89th Street and Central Park West was a Red-tailed Hawk. This section of the park, west of the Reservoir, usually has a Red-tailed guest during the winter. To my surprise there were two Red-tailed Hawks, something I’m not used to seeing here.

Then while waiting for it to get dark, a Cooper’s Hawk dove into the Loch. It caught a squirrel and ate it. It’s the first time I’ve seen a Cooper’s Hawk with a squirrel.

Lastly, I was able to see and hear both of the North Woods resident Eastern Screech-Owls. They’ve switched roosts, so we felt lucky to find them.

On the way out of the park, I saw that the Lasker Pool is now the Lasker Rink! Another sign of the changing seasons.

November 14, 2009December 18, 2020Other Red-tailed Hawks

Youngster in the Ramble

I went out in a break in the rain on Saturday to see if their was any sign of the Great-Horned Owl that had been spotted on two separate days in Central Park over the last week. I didn’t find the owl, but did find this 1st year Red-tailed Hawk. It was right next to a cove on the Lake called the Oven.

Pictures include the bird eating a squirrel. If that doesn’t interest you skip this post.

June 6, 2009December 24, 2020Other Red-tailed Hawks

RFK Bridge Nest

The three eyasses looked great on my Saturday visit to the nest. The nest is on a drain pipe on the Astoria, Queens side of the bridge. On my visit I didn’t see the parents, but I also didn’t stay long. It’s not uncommon for a nest to be left unattended for long periods once the eyasses get close to fledging.

June 6, 2009December 24, 2020Other Red-tailed Hawks

Unisphere Nest in Flushing Meadows Corona Park, Queens

Earlier this week arrived news from Bobby Horvath, the rehabilitator on Long Island, that an eyass had fallen out of the Unisphere. The bird was taken to the Queens Zoo across the highway, checked out just fine, and ended up with in the Horvath’s care.

The Unisphere nest has a history of having eyasses and fledglings in trouble. The Unisphere’s metal construction makes it difficult for a bird to “branch” and there have been birds that fall out of the nest prematurely in previous years. The park itself is a problem for new fledglings, as it doesn’t have very many quiet areas for the parents to lure them to.

The Hovarths continues to perform a great service for birds and wildlife in New York City. If you’re a NYC Raptor lover, I can think of no better donation then to help their organization. If you’d like to make a monetary donation, checks can be made out to “Wildlife in Need of Rescue and Rehabilitation” and sent to:

WINORR, Inc.
202 N. Wyoming Avenue
North Massapequa, NY 11758

Since I hadn’t been out to the nest since earlier in the season, I went out on Saturday to see how things had progressed at the nest.

When I arrived a parent was on the New York State Pavilion Towers and a visible eyass on the nest. About fifteen minutes later, I saw a wing tip briefly from an I-beam of the Unisphere, three sections over from the nest. So, the nest must have started three chicks, two still on the Unisphere and one now with the Horvaths.

Sunday Update: A second eyass fledged prematurely at the Unisphere and it is also now in the care of the Horvaths.