I finally had a chance to visit Grant’s Tomb this season. The nest is now in front of the Tomb and is much more visible than the old nest. There are two eyasses this year. I didn’t get to see a feeding, but I did get to see a Peregrine Falcon from the Riverside Church nest, hassle one of the parents.
310 West 72nd Street has to be the hardest nest to view in the city. It’s in a gutter at the top of the building and one can’t really see into the nest. But I was able to view an exchange of the two hawks, so I it would be safe to say the nest has eggs.
This afternoon, I got to see both parents on the nest and the eyass. It was nice to see all three hawks.
(A few folks have asked me about when the rescued eyass. I trust the folks at WINORR to make the correct choice about what to do with the eyass. There are so many factors involved, I wouldn’t even try to second guess the experts.)
Yesterday, the rehabilitator, Bobby Horvath of WINORR (Wildlife In Need of Rescue and Rehabilitation) got a call about an eyass crying from behind a flowerpot on a penthouse roof. When Bobby arrived he found not only a Red-tailed Hawk eyass, but also a nest with a mother and another eyass, 75 feet from the lost eyass. The eyass that was crying was taken into rehabilitation and is doing fine.
The nest is hidden from the street and only if the remaining eyass stands up in just the right place can you see it. The nest is in a decorative gutter that runs the length of the facade, and is on the eastern end of the building. The pair is most likely the same pair that nested a block away last year.
After reports of one, then two, eyasses on the Grant’s Tomb nest, it became apparent that there were three eyasses on the nest this week. I caught up with them and both there parents this evening.
The 116th Street nest was relaxed until food was delivered on Saturday afternoon. Gone are the relaxed careful feedings of the mother, having been replaced by a grab for food by a youngster who can feed itself. Boy, do they grow up fast!
