Category: Southern Central Park Red-tailed Hawks

927 5th Avenue Red-tailed Hawks, Eagles, Falcons, Hawks and Osprey, 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

Riverside and Broadway

I spent the early afternoon looking at the Riverside Red-tailed Hawk pair on Saturday.  There nest is just off the Hudson River near 8st Street and looks great.  Last year they laid eggs around mid-March, so the female should start sitting on the nest soon.

Other nests in Manhattan are doing well.  Inwood Hill Park, Highbridge Park, St. John the Divine and 5th Avenue nests are doing fine.  The Highbridge nest is back to its old spot.

The Central Park South pair is still there but I don’t have any details about their nest.  The Houston female lost her mate last year, and may be nesting on the ConEd plant around 14th Street.  The pair that was around the City College campus remains a mystery.

Sightings of hawks this winter around the north end of Riverside Park and around the Court House buildings on Center Street make these locations possibilities for new nests this year.

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When leaving Riverside Park, check out the American Kestrels that have a scrape at 80th and Broadway.  One of them is usually on the building south of Zabar’s or on the church at 79th and Broadway.

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Other Red-tailed Hawks, Southern Central Park Red-tailed Hawks

Young vs. Established

The young hawk I had seen yesterday was in the same general area today.  I first saw it around the playgrounds north of Tavern on the Green, and then on a C.P.W. building around 68th Street.   Then it took off towards the Heckscher Ball Fields.  When I caught up with the hawk, it had just finished up eating and was cleaning its beak.

Then I spotted Charlotte, the female hawk from Central Park South, on one of the Ball Fields.  She took off towards the young hawk’s tree with some prey.

The young hawk left, but ended up moving to a number of trees around the Ball Fields as Charlotte ate.  I could not figure out all of the dynamics, but something was surely going on between the two of them.

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Southern Central Park Red-tailed Hawks, St. John/Columbia Red-tailed Hawks

St. John’s, Riverside and 888 Seventh Avenue Updates

The Cathedral of St. John as started a waterproofing project and put up scaffolding all around the nest.  While the work will be away from the nest, it is close by.  The timing of this project couldn’t be worse, with egg laying in mid-March and hatching in April.  It will be interesting to watch this situation develop.  I’m afraid that the hawks might end up attaching workers if they get too close to an active nest later in the Spring.

James O’Brien has more photographs of the St. John’s scaffolding, as well as news of similar repairs on Riverside Church on his blog.

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I’ve also gotten news of the 888 Seventh Avenue nest from Brett Odom, who has a view of the nest from his office.

“I just wanted to let you know that while I have not witnessed any copulation activities between Junior and Charlotte.  I can confirm that they have greatly increased their visits to the 888 7th Ave. nest site.  Until the last several days I could go weeks between sightings, but recently I have seen them visit the nest several times a day.”

Southern Central Park Red-tailed Hawks

The Whole Family

On Monday evening, the 888 Seventh Avenue family was located around the Mall (a long walkway with American Elms and statues of famous writers) in Central Park.  The juvenile was begging for food, but you could tell her parents knew she was already doing just fine hunting on her own. 

The female and the male were in the same tree when I saw them.  She’s on the left and he’s on the right.
The male, who had gotten tangled in some pigeon spikes on Central Park South on Saturday, looked just fine which was excellent news.
The juvenile came into a nearby tree.
The juvenile then moved to a street light at the northeast corner of the Sheep Meadow.
She begged for a few minutes.  But it’s too old for its parents to be feeding her, so her requests fell on deaf ears.
She circled around the area and end up on a street lamp across the street from the one she had been on.
Her father was in a nearby tree.
He flew off.  By this time, it was too dark to keep tracking them.
Southern Central Park Red-tailed Hawks

She’s Back

The 888 juvenile was back in Central Park on Sunday.  She was first discovered in Columbus Circle and then went on a hunting trip catching two mice and keeping three photographers on their toes as she flew around the park.  She’s no longer staying in one place, but enjoys moving around.

I missed seeing her in Columbus Circle, but caught up to her as she flew to the southwest corner of the park.
She moved east.
Her band number allows me to be sure it’s the 888 juvenile.
She’s off again, moving to a tree by the Pond and then back west to a tree near Cop Cot.
She then catches a small mouse by the wall on Central Park South, just across the street from the Essex House.
She makes quick work of this snack sized mouse.
Then it’s off to an area just north of the South Drive around Seventh Avenue.
Then a small war begins.  This squirrel whose den is at the end of the tree, decides to protect its branch.
The squirrel is amazingly aggressive.  The squirrel tries to bite the juvenile, so she flies off quickly but then returns to the tree branch.
So, this is why you’re worried.
After a stand off, the squirrel come out again.
This stand off ended in an amazing way.  The juvenile dropped from the tree to catch a mouse.  How it kept track of the squirrel and the mouse at the same time, I’ll never know.
It caught the mouse, even while being distracted by the squirrel.
After finishing her meal, she was off again.
By this time, I felt like I had been run around the park too much and gave up on tracking her.  It’s nice to have her back.