I was up at the nest for about an hour or so after 6:00 p.m. It was a quiet evening with a cool breeze. The parents spent their time off the nest and only one eyas was very active on the nest while I was there.
The eyas has changed greatly in the last two days. It’s beginning to look more like a Red-tailed adult, each and every day.
Just as I arrived the female returned to the nest.
Later the male arrives with a pigeon but leaves with a squirrel! Either they’re caching food in the nest or he was taking out the trash.
The chicks on the nest. They’re buff colored chests are coming in now.
A little bit before 1 p.m., the female helped a nestling have lunch. The young can feed themselves, but the mother helps by pulling apart the meat into smaller pieces.
In the late morning and early afternoon, both parents kept an eye on the nest from various perches around the nest.
Sunday morning at the nest. They sure are growing up fast.
The eyasses are starting to do some basic wing flaps. Soon this will turn into full scale flight training.
Red-tailed Hawks usually leave the nest after about 6 to 7 weeks. If our estimates of the hawks ages are correct at somewhere between 3-4 weeks, they should fledge (leave the nest) in mid-June. They’ll then, most likely, spend a few days around the Cathedral before moving into Morningside Park.
During the first few weeks in the park, the parents will feed the fledglings. But soon the parents will be teaching the young to hunt on their own. In late summer, the fledglings will be able to take care of themselves and will at some point wander off in the fall or winter.
