I’ll post a longer video later tonight, but wanted to share this quickly. A pair of hawks establishing a nest on the north tower of the San Remo had a mishap tonight. While trying to position an egg, the female accidentally let it roll off the ledge.
Almost every time I visit the park a hawk is on either the south or north tower of the Beresford Apartments for at least half an hour. Tonight it was the south tower.
This afternoon, the male was on the oval widow of north tower at the Beresford Apartments, and the female was on the nest, which is on the oval window of the southeast tower. The ironwork of the north tower window is painted black, while the ironwork of the south tower is painted white, which makes it easy to figure out which tower is which in videos and photographs.
Not much happened while I watched. The male left the tower a few times and at one point two hawks buzzed the Beresford, most likely the Beresford male and another hawk. The other could easily could have been one of the males from the other nearby nests.
I’m looking forward to the 2015 Red-tailed Hawk nest hatches in Central and Morningside Parks. We have three confirmed nests in Central Park, a pair seen frequently in the NE section of the Central Park, and our Cathedral hawks have a new nest location exposed to the elements.
With any new season, I look forward to discovering new aspects of urban Red-tailed Hawk behavior.
Three Central Park nests is fantastic news this year. But one has to wonder about locations and why these three nests are so close together? Do these three Red-tailed hawk pairs benefit by having protected flanks from the other pairs? Does this outweigh any issues over food contention, etc.? Or did the new nest locations have nothing to do with the other nest locations? It will be interesting to see when other raptor species fly over the park, if the Red-tailed Hawks work together to escort them away. And which pair will tale over the Locust Grove.
The Beresford Apartment nest will have new fledglings who will have to cross Central Park West to end up in Central Park or maybe even Teddy Roosevelt Park. Which buildings will they perch on the first few weeks? The Museum of Natural History? Or like many Red-tails, will they try to get as high as possible the first week and end up back on the Beresford? Where will the parents take them to hunt? South to the calm lawn south of The Yard? Or up North?
How will the exposed nest do at the Cathedral of Saint John? Will it be as productive as St. Andrew had been?
And is there a forth pair nesting near the park? Almost all of the experienced hawk watchers in Central Park saw a pair of hawks all winter around the Conservatory Garden. In April, many of us have seen a single hawk in the park, who flies over to Madison Avenue between 100th to 106th. Is there a nest tucked away a block from the park or in the public housing east of Madison?
I’m looking forward to learning more about Red-tailed Hawks this season. How fantastic is it that one of the best places to study Red-tailed Hawks is in the middle of Big Apple! New York City truly is one hell of a town.
I spent about an hour watching the Beresford nest this afternoon. Not much happened while I was there. The only excitement was a brief visit by an American Kestrel.
Tonight, I returned to The Beresford to view the exchanges between the pair. The female was sitting on the eggs when I arrived and after about forty minutes the male came to relieve her. She flew off towards the the Pinetum, which is north of the Great Lawn, and didn’t return for about thirty minutes.
After she returned, the male then left, first flying towards the bathrooms near the Delacorte Theater, and then he flew off to roost, west of Triplets Bridge.
It’s going to be a fun adventure learning more about this new pair.
I would recommend watching the video in full screen mode. Just click on the box in the lower right hand corner, and if needed click on the gear to select a larger resolution.
