Lower East Side On A Rainy Saturday

By D. Bruce YoltonTompkins Square Red-tailed Hawks

There was about an hour in the morning to go hawk watching on the Lower East Side.  The nest is moving along.  The couple looks young, so we should be prepared for this first attempt not to be successful.

These hawks are looking much darker than usual, since they’re wet.

One hawk was on a building west of the school when I arrived.
The other was on a tree across the street.
Then one was on the nest for about five minutes.
Before flying off.  Both birds ended up in the same tree.
One had a twig and took it to the nest and the other…
…went to a lamppost.
On the air conditioner to the left of the nest, they’ve built a little landing platform.
They sometimes land there, and then fly over to the real nest.
The hawk on the lamppost, then goes to a drainpipe on at the top of the school.  About 200 pigeons changed places!
The other hawk is weaving a plastic bag into the nest.
Good luck first timers!