Urban Hawks

August 18, 2007December 23, 2020927 5th Avenue Red-tailed Hawks, Southern Central Park Red-tailed Hawks

Saturday Hawks

Saturday Hawk watching started at the Beresford.

Lola was to the left of her normal perch on the window. I then made it to the southwestern tip of the park.

The female adult of the 888 Seventh Avenue pair was on the north tower of the Time-Warner building.

The female comes down to join him and ends up catching a small mouse.

The 888 Seventh Avenue adult female. No high roosts tonight. They slept in trees near Columbus Circle.

August 18, 2007December 23, 2020Other Birds

The light was very bright on Saturday, so I got a chance to photograph Barn Swallows in flight over the Harlem Meer. At times two birds would touch in flight. I was able to catch a few of these touches. I haven’t figured out the purpose of the touching, although it seems to be some kind of social behavior.

August 17, 2007December 23, 2020Southern Central Park Red-tailed Hawks

Between Thunderstorms

Thanks to a call from Lincoln Karim, I got to photograph the 888 fledgling who is now very, very difficult to find. It has been raining, so her coloring is more intense than usual.

August 14, 2007December 23, 2020Southern Central Park Red-tailed Hawks

Global Domination Continues

After the discovery of the Red-tailed Hawk nest on the Unisphere in Queens, I thought global domination by Red-tails was over for the season. But the adult male of the 888 Seventh Avenue nest proved me wrong. He perched on the replica of the Unisphere outside the Trump International Hotel and Tower on Tuesday evening, just outside the park at 60th and Central Park West.

August 14, 2007December 23, 2020Southern Central Park Red-tailed Hawks

One Less Rodent In The Park

The 888 Seventh Avenue fledgling is doing great. She’s now a quite capable hunter. On Tuesday evening, she captured a large rodent and put on show for the tourists at the south of the park.

She’s becoming much harder to find, a sign of her increasing independence. I won’t be surprised if she leaves the park soon to begin her life’s adventure away from her parents. I’ll miss her, but will be happy knowing that Central Park has been a safe haven for yet another Red-tail youngster.

August 13, 2007December 23, 2020Southern Central Park Red-tailed Hawks

Roosting On 15 Central Park West

Not to be out done by their child, the 888 Seventh Avenue parents spent the night on 15 Central Park West. This may be the highest roost, we’ve seen a Red-tailed Hawk use.

One of the hawks arrived and then left. I think it was the female of the pair.

The female returns to the building perching on scaffolding.

Soon the male arrives (right) and the female then joins him on a the left. These are the highest windows on the building on the north tower of the rear building at 15 CPW.

Although it looks like daylight in this long exposure, it is well past dark and both hawks have settled in for the evening.

While I was watching these two, an inline skater came by and showed me pictures from earlier in the evening. It was of the 888 Seventh Avenue fledgling. She was hunting on the bridge just inside the park from Central Park South at Seventh Avenue. Unfortunately, while he was taking pictures someone actually went up to the fledgling and touched her. No harm was done, but it’s a shame some New Yorkers don’t have common sense!