Southern Central Park Red-tailed Hawks Archives - Page 14 of 25

Central Park Hawks

Today was a nice day in Central Park. I had the two Red-tailed hawks trying to establish a nest on CPW, (now working on a nest on 322 CPW.) Then a juvenile Red-tailed Hawk on the American Museum of Natural History followed by Sharp-shinned Hawk in the Evodia Field.

My next stop was Fifth Avenue, where Octavia is now brooding. Pale Male was tending to the nest (rearranging twigs as is his habit) and she returned to the nest.

A quick walk down to Central Park South uncovered one Red-tailed hawk there. Seven hawks, not too bad for a brief afternoon visit to the park.

March 1, 2013December 26, 2020Southern Central Park Red-tailed Hawks

Plaza Hotel Pair

There looks to be some question as to whether the Plaza Hotel pair might be Pale Male and Octavia building a secondary nest.

Looking at the photographs I’ve taken over the last two days, these look like a new pair to my eyes. Both the male and female look different than Pale Male and Octavia.

(Certainly, this pair has ventured up to Pale Male’s territory over the last few weeks and it might be one of the Central Park South hawks that was mistaken for Octavia up north. This would explain matching field marks.)

The Plaza Hotel pair also have a nest on the Crown Building. It is in a better location from the Plaza, but sadly out of view from the street. I hope they nest on the Plaza, but if they don’t we won’t be able to see the eyasses for some time.

February 28, 2013December 18, 2020Southern Central Park Red-tailed Hawks

Hanky Panky On The Plaza

The Central Park South pair copulated on the Plaza Hotel late this afternoon. The female was about twenty feet from the nest, and the male flew in and copulated with her. He quickly left and flew due west. She followed at dusk about twenty minutes later. I walked over in the general direction they flew, but didn’t find either of the hawk’s roosts for the evening.

January 11, 2013December 26, 2020Southern Central Park Red-tailed Hawks

The Plaza Hotel – A New Red-tailed Nest

The Roger Paw Blog reported on January 9th that a new Red-tailed Hawk nest is being established on The Plaza Hotel at Central Park South.

This evening, at dusk while I was watching two Black Crowned Night Herons (one adult and one immature), and hundreds of Common Grackles come home to roost, I saw one the Red-tails at the nest site. The Red-tailed Hawk stayed on the nest for about ten minutes and then went off to roost.

Hats off to the Roger Paw Blog for such excellent reporting! Finding a new nest site, this early in the season, is hard work.

February 28, 2010December 24, 2020927 5th Avenue Red-tailed Hawks, Southern Central Park Red-tailed Hawks

Two Hawk Mothers

Lola and Charlotte are the nicknames given two female hawks around Central Park who have been mothers in the past. Both hawks were getting ready for the next nesting season on Sunday

Lola, the lighter of the two hawks, was busy soaring around the Fifth Avenue nest and working on tidying it up. She will most likely lay eggs mid-March.

Charlotte, who nests at 888 Seventh Avenue, was seen eating a pigeon and chasing of a juvenile hawk up at the Sheep Meadow. She generally lays eggs a few weeks after Lola.

Both females have had nesting issues these last few years. May they both have a successful year in 2010.

April 5, 2009December 24, 2020927 5th Avenue Red-tailed Hawks, Highbridge Park Red-tailed Hawks, Inwood Hill Park Red-tailed Hawks, Other Red-tailed Hawks, Riverside Park Red-tailed Hawks, Southern Central Park Red-tailed Hawks, Tompkins Square Red-tailed Hawks

Manhattan Nests

From north to south, we have the following confirmed nesting sites in Manhattan this year: Inwood Hill Park, Highbridge Park (back to the old location, which should be safer than last year’s location), Lower Riverside Park (also in a new and safer location), Fifth Avenue and 888 Seventh Avenue. I visited all of them this weekend. They all seem to be in good shape, with chicks expected within the next few weeks.

Some nests have changed from last year.

There is no sign of a nest below 14th Street, although there have been reports of hawks downtown all winter, including Tompkins Square Park, the World Trade Center construction site, the Court Houses around Center Street, Seward Park, Washington Square Park and the Greenway.

Last year’s nest on Houston Street is not being used again this year. The male from last year’s nest died of Fronce and while hawks have been seen on the Lower East Side all winter, no signs of a new nest has been found.

The St. John the Divine’s pair have both been seen recently but further uptown. Construction continues on the church and they may have moved but no one has found a new nest location. This one is a real mystery.

The Shepard Hall, City College nest looks bigger according to reports, but nest looks unoccupied. The hawks may be nesting somewhere nearby.

Here are pictures of four nests from this weekend: