Owls

Monday, March 26th

After Chris sent word that she had found the owls again, we all went up north that evening.  For the first time in 2007, we got to see owls in Central Park.  Three owls to be exact, two parents and a fledgling.  They must have had four babies.  It was great to see both parents and the fledgling doing so well.

We were able to follow them as they flew from tree to tree.  I was able to get pictures of one of the parents and a fledgling.

They stopped in a tree that had been used by Screech-Owl fledglings two years ago.  It brought back memories of that year, my first season birding in Central Park.  It was the Screech-Owls that year that got me introduced to our current circle of owl watchers.

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927 5th Avenue Red-tailed Hawks, Inwood Hill Park Red-tailed Hawks, St. John/Columbia Red-tailed Hawks

Sunday Hat Trick

I took a visit to three of the Manhattan nests on Sunday and found them all with brooding mothers.  (The fourth nest I know about in Manhattan is located at 888 Seventh Avenue, and its location, makes it difficult to determine if the mother is brooding yet.)

Inwood Hill Park

The Inwood Hill female sitting on her nest.
The male (on right) arrives.
The female takes a brief break from sitting on the eggs.
She preens a little bit.
I thought there would be a nest exchange, with the male giving the female a break, but not this time.
He flies off north.
The blur of his wing is on the left.
She settles in keeping an eye out for all of the noisy Blue Jays that are about.
The male returns, and this time we will have an exchange.
He settles down on the nest.
Then the female returns.
And they swap places.
He’s off in a flash.
She settles down onto her eggs.


St. John the Divine

The female was on Gabriel’s horn shortly after I arrived.
She then returns to the nest.
After her tail is tucked in, you can’t see her on the nest.
The male after leaving the nest ends up on Gabriel’s horn.


Fifth Avenue

When I entered the park, Pale Male was on the SE tower of the Beresford.
I only got to see Lola’s tail for a few moments!

It was a great day seeing three pairs of Red-tailed Hawks thrive in Manhattan, each in their own way.

Other Birds, St. John/Columbia Red-tailed Hawks

Park Avenue and St. John the Divine

I started my afternoon on Saturday looking for a pair of Peregrine Falcons on Park Avenue in the upper 40’s.  I didn’t have any luck finding them but did see these two Turkey Vultures flying overhead.

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I then went up to The Cathedral Church of St. John the Divine.

The male on the Archangel Gabriel.
The male over Morningside Park.  He’s lost a feather on his right wing.
The male on a railing at the top, northeast corner of 352 West 110th Street.
The male soaring over Morningside Park again.
The male in a tree east of the nest in Morningside Park.
Other Red-tailed Hawks

Reservoir Hawks

While up at the Reservoir, I saw a juvenile Red-tailed Hawk who was hunting around the edges of the reservoir and just before leaving the park, our 86th Street regular.

This young hawk was going after everything along the northeast of the Reservoir.  It went after sparrows, a squirrel, an American Robin, an American Coot and a Mallard without success.
The young hawk made its way down near our 86th Street regular, who gave it no notice.
Our adult 86th Street regular who slipped in without notice, just after sunset.