With Daylight Saving Time, it’s easier to have time after work to watch the nest. Bobby made two brief visits while I was at Washington Square one around 5:15 and one just before he went to roost.
You can see the updated New York Times web camera in many of my shots from today.
The Washington Square hawks seem to have their nesting rhythm down now. Bobby checking in every few hours and seeing if Rosie needs a break. I arrived late in the afternoon. Rosie didn’t leave the nest but Bobby came in to see if she wanted a break. He then went off to hunt in the western area of the park.
When I arrived Rosie had already been relieved of her egg sitting duties by Bobby and had just finished lunch. She returned and swapped with Bobby. After about an hour and a half, Bobby returned to the nest and gave Rosie another break, this time so she could preen which she did on Two Fifth Avenue. Then Rosie returned and Bobby left. He then perched on a building on the west side of the park.
Tonight, I got to see my first exchange (pair swapping egg sitting duties) of the 2012 season at Washington Square. It was great to see Bobby sitting on the eggs.
During Rosie’s break, she few around the park, looked to be hunting and found what looked like leftovers.
NYU confirmed with a press release that there was an egg seen in the Washington Square nest on Tuesday. Usually hawk watchers can only guess that the eggs were laid based on behavioral changes, so it was nice to have confirmation.
The hawks were together on the nest when I arrived, before I could get my gear set up, so no pictures.
Bobby disappeared after it got dark, but I found him at 6:30 p.m. on the nest making a brief visit. He then flew off to his regular “hotel” roost at 6:35. It was pitch black when he went to roost.
While I’ve been keeping track of the nest this week, the Roger Paw blog has been following Bobby in the park this week, generally at the same time I have. I would recommend following both our blogs to get both perspectives on the Washington Square nest.
Rosie seemed glued to the nest this evening, much more than last night. It’s hard to know if egg laying has begun but there’s a good chance it may have started. We’ll know more over the next few days.
