Thanks to a report from Pat Durban scores of birders got to see a perched Eastern Whip-poor-will in the Locust Grove of Central Park on Labor Day. About fifteen of us waited around for the fly out, where after a brief flight to nearby branch, the bird flew quickly out of site.
With the weather getting cooler and fall migration having already begun, I’ve resumed making trips to Central Park. On my last trip to the park, I was delighted to see this Ruby-throated Hummingbird at Shakespeare Garden.
A weekend out of the city, brought me to an Osprey Nest on Long Island Sound. I had seen signs of the nest having nestlings the last time I was out, but now in late July the nest had two fledglings flying about. Osprey have made a fantastic recovery from DDT, and I counted eight Osprey in the cove where the nest is at one point.
I’ve had the hardest time catching up with the 93rd Street fledglings. I’ve seen the parents but rarely the fledglings. This is typical of hawk watching. As the fledglings become more accustomed to their surroundings and begin to learn to hunt on their own, their range increases. And for a few weeks, it was too hot to look for them!
I did find one of them high on a new building on the north side of 96th Street on the 19th of July.
I kept track of the Barn Swallow nest on the reservoir going back a few times over three weeks. Only one nest was visible, but it was clear there were more nests under the arches of the eastern gatehouse of the two north gatehouses.
All of the nests appeared to have fledged by the third week of July. Then for a few days, the fledglings hung out on the gatehouses. By late July they were spending the day primarily on the North Meadow.
The 93rd Street Red-tailed Hawk fledglings have moved north of the 96th Street Transverse, to the Recreation Center and the North Meadow in the last week. The Recreation Center is under construction and is fenced off, giving them a human and dog free playground after the construction crews have left.
On Wednesday evening, we had a bit of trouble finding the fledglings. We found one north of the Recreation Center. It ended up going all around the Recreation Center before exploring the western side of the North Meadow. This is the same area, Flaco, the Eurasian Eagle-Owl hunted in last summer, and like Flaco the hawk perched on a tractor.
One of the parents arrived with a Brown Rat, and a fledgling that looked to have already eaten joined them on a backstop. But the parent must of wanted to feed on of the other fledglings, and flew south.
On Thursday afternoon, all three of the fledglings were on the roof to the Recreation Center. They soon explored the trees and fences and as I was leaving one of the parents brought in a rodent.
I’m sad to report that at the 102nd/Riverside nest one of the fledglings was found on the ground, emaciated and covered in flies a few days ago. It was transported to the Wild Bird Fund, but passed away the next day.
