I didn’t witness any of the excitement of the day, but I sure heard about it!

The bird that had been using the roofs of buildings on the two blocks near the nest, learning who to land and explore, decided to go over to 205 West End Drive.  Mid-morning it landed on a car, had troubles landing in a tree and it was “rescued” by folks thinking the bird was going to get into traffic. 

In general, you should only intervene after getting permission for a licensed rehabbed.   Too many birds get “rescued” and then have to be returned to their parents.  When in doubt, call your local Audubon Society or local rehabber before taking any action.  Many birds get hurt by being handled by inexperienced “do gooders”.

Luckily, the Wild Bird Fund, where the bird ended up, returned it to 31o West 72nd Street in the early afternoon, and the parents quickly came to be with the fledgling.  So, with one bird on the nest still, everyone was accounted for.

It looks like the parents are looking to entice the fledglings into the gardens of the Lincoln Tower buildings.  There is lots of green space, tons of food and the area has lots of traffic free lawns.  I’m always surprised by where hawks bring their fledglings.  I would have assumed Riverside Park was the destination for these young hawks.

On Wednesday evening, the eyass remaining on the nest was only being seen briefly and stayed for the most part on the nest on the eastern side of the gutter.  One of the parents was seen on a building at 70th and Riverside Blvd.

Only one eyass remained on the nest today.  From the parents behavior, the other one may have been on the roof of the building.  The parents made some very tight circles over the roof, typical of parents checking on a fledgling.  It will be interesting to see how this develops.

Saturday’s visit, yielded two Red-tailed Hawks looking just about ready to leave the nest.

I tried my luck again at the 310 West 72nd Street nest and wasn’t disappointed.  After about twenty minutes of nothing, as the afternoon temperature started to drop, the mother arrived at the nest and the two eyasses woke up.  She helped them eat and left.  The eyasses then were active for about twenty minutes.

I made another visit to 310 West 72nd Street.  The eyasses look great.  I thought there were three, but it might be only two on the nest.  While recording, a local showed me pictures of a fledgling from last year who showed up on her terrace last year.  She was stunned to hear it was a youngster.

These young hawks should be leaving the nest soon.   There tails are a bit short, but they should grow in within a few days.  It will be great to have some young hawks in Riverside Park this year.