I was hoping the Tompkins Square Park pair would start nesting soon, but they continue to act like a young couple. They’re building the nest up a little higher and copulating a great deal, but seem to be in no rush to start having a family.
I guess that’s not too bad. While the old guard is quietly sitting on nests, this pair gives me something to watch!
Later in the afternoon, the Tompkins Square Park provided the opposite experience from the Washington Square Park nest. The hawks who copulated three times in less than an hour and the colorful characters of the park, who also were observing the hawks, made the sound track not safe for work.
Newly established nests have a tendency to lay eggs later than older nests. So, no one should worry that this nest is a few weeks behind the more established nests in Central Park or Washington Square.
Although the late afternoon was quiet, before dusk there was lots of activity at Tompkins Square Park. It had the usual, copulation, rat hunting and nest visits. But the surprise of the day was the night time roosting location of the male. He choose a tree on the west side of Avenue A. He choose the noisiest place to roost in the neighborhood. Amazing.
I had some of the best hawk watching in ages on Saturday afternoon in Tompkins Square Park. The young couple is so full of energy it was great fun to be with them. High winds limited the ability to get clean video, but who cares. This is a fantastic couple who can’t sit still!
Tompkins Square Park after years of hosting juvenile hawks, finally looks to have its own pair of adults who have built a nice nest on top of an air conditioning unit at 9th Street and Avenue B. I had gone to visit last weekend but didn’t take any photographs as the hawks were inactive.
Today, I found two very active hawks. They copulated three times and flew around the park multiple times. The nest reminds me of the nest we had a number of years ago on Houston and Avenue D.
This pair is very, very easy to watch. This should be a fun year for the residents who live near the park.
I’ve begun using a Blackmagic Production Camera, which shoots in Ultra HD (four times the resolution of HD.) If you watch this video in full screen mode, you should have a great viewing viewing experience.
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:
