Urban Hawks

February 28, 2008December 23, 2020St. John/Columbia Red-tailed Hawks

Difficult News

Last Thursday, a Morningside Park dog walker, Stephen Jarossy, saw a Red-tailed Hawk with wing problems in the park. He went home to drop off his dog and get a cardboard box, but when he returned he could not rediscover the injured hawk.

He emailed me on Friday, but I got it too late to help him during the day. When I received it that evening, I forwarded it to the Urban Park Rangers, who sent two rangers to look for the injured hawk on Saturday. Bobby Horvath, the rehabber who confirmed with Stephen that he did indeed see an injured hawk. Two avid St. John the Divine hawk watchers and bloggers, James O’Brien (yojimbot.blogspot.com) and Robert Schmunk (bloomingdalevillage.blogspot.com), also searched the park for the hawk over the weekend.

On Sunday, it became clear that the male hawk of the Cathedral pair was missing. On Monday, Robert saw two adult hawks on the Cathedral, but couldn’t I.D. them. On Wednesday, he could. There was a new, much darker male, next to the adult female of the Cathedral pair.

This confirmed for us that something catastrophic had happened to the female’s old mate. It was unclear if he had died or had been taken into someone’s care. Hopefully, he is with a rehabber, although calls to local facilities have not given us any good news. Birds have a high mortality rate, and chances are that the male has died, although we all hope to be proven wrong.

Tonight, I got up to the park to watch the adult female go to sleep in one of her favorite roost trees. No sign of her new suitor.

February 27, 2008December 21, 2020Owls

Wednesday, 2-27-08

A simple night, a fly out after it got very dark and with only one owl leaving.

February 25, 2008December 21, 2020Owls

Monday, 2-25-08

Tonight was a one owl night, with it quickly giving us the slip. We’ve started calling them the Monty Python owls, because each night they perform “And Now For Something Completely Different”.

February 24, 2008December 21, 2020Owls

Sunday, 2-24-08

These owls keep confusing us. Tonight, it was hard to tell if one or two owls went out of the cavity. Plus, an owl spent some time on the ground and then returned to the cavity.

February 24, 2008December 18, 2020Riverside Park Red-tailed Hawks

Sunday Riverside Park Hawk Pictures

Sunday was similar to Saturday up at Riverside Park. Nest building followed by a late lunch of Rock Pigeon. This pair might be the most accessible pair in the city. They don’t seem shy of people and like to eat on the ground or in low branches.

The smaller of the hawks caught lunch, ate most of it, but then gave up the rest after begging by its mate. As with yesterday’s pictures, there are some graphic eating images at the end of this post. Proceed at your own risk.

February 23, 2008December 23, 2020Tompkins Square Red-tailed Hawks

Possible Seventh Manhattan Red-tailed Hawk Nest

Earlier this winter, when there was a juvenile Red-tailed Hawk in Tompkins Square Park, I received a tip that there was a hawk nest at Houston and the East River Drive. It seemed like a logical spot, so now that nesting season has begun I went down to take a look.

While walking east down Houston Street towards the river, I saw a Red-tail with a twig flying down Houston Street being followed down the street by it’s mate. It landed on an air conditioner cage on the top floor of a local school, two blocks from the river. Two air conditioner cages had twigs, so it look like the pair hasn’t quite decided what to do yet. We’ll know in a few weeks. Imagine the potential education the elementary school class may receive!

After working on the nest, both hawks perched on the Lillian Wald Settlement, a building run by the NYC Housing Authority.