TCC/MCNY Red-tailed Hawks

Museum of the City of New York Red-tailed Hawk Nest

The Terrence Cardinal Cooke Red-tailed Hawk pair have moved their nest to the Museum of the City of New York Red-tailed Hawk Nest at 1220 Fifth Avenue at 103rd Street. It is tucked into the southern corner of the southern pediment of the building on the Fifth Avenue (western) side.

Red-tailed Hawks can make an alternate nest and then choose to use another site at the last minute, but this looks to be the one they will use in 2023. The female should begin using the nest soon.

Eurasian Eagle-Owl, Owls

Eurasian Eagle-Owl, Daytime Snack

When I arrived at Flaco’s roost on Monday afternoon, a friend came up to me and said “He’s been eating a rat!”. I learned that while I was away on a few days, he’s been bringing a Brown Rat to his roost to nibble on throughout the day.

I saw him with the lower half of the rat mid-afternoon, which he took a few bites of around 3:00 p.m. but he waited until after 6 p.m. to finish eating it. It’s nice to see him eat in a relaxed way. During the early days of him hunting, he would eat the rats whole and quickly primarily on the ground.

San Remo/Pinetum Red-tailed Hawks

Pinetum Red-tailed Hawk Nest

I wasn’t able to photograph the activity at the nest, but was able to watch the San Remo/Pinetum pair copulate on The Beresford, and bring nesting material to the nest on Monday afternoon. It looks like they are on track to nest again. It’s good news as folks had seen a raccoon sleeping in the nest a few months ago and there was some tentative nest building on the San Remo in January.

The open question is what is happening in the north end of the park. I saw two Red-tails over The Pool engaged in a courtship flight, but haven’t seen where they are nesting. Hopefully, the North End Birders will find it.

Update: I just heard from John Baisley, an Urban Park Ranger, that the Terrence Cardinal Cooke pair has moved their nest two blocks south to the southern end of the Museum of the City of New York building.

Eurasian Eagle-Owl, Owls

Eurasian Eagle-Owl

I’ve been in southern Africa for two weeks, and returned on Friday. I got a chance to see Flaco briefly on Saturday and for a few hours on Sunday. He was using a perch he used before I left and after fly out, went into the construction area of the new rink/pool. It was nice to see that he’s settled down into a routine.

Eurasian Eagle-Owl, Owls

Eurasian Eagle-Owl, Day 29

I was able to make to see Flaco one more time before going on my trip. He was in The Loch hooting by a waterfall when I arrived. He explored a few trees at fly out and got chased by a Red-tailed Hawk. It was interesting in that the two birds, ended up making a Great Blue Heron fly out of The Loch. It was fun to have all three at once.

Flaco, as he’s been doing, went to the construction site. I had to leave but heard that he caught and ate a rat on a mound of dirt.

TCC/MCNY Red-tailed Hawks

Terence Cardinal Cooke Red-tailed Hawks

It looks like the pair that used this nest have had enough of the construction and have moved their nest. Tahj Holiday has seen nesting activity by the pair at the old church at 96th and Central Park West.

The old nest had a juvenile hawk sitting on it when I was going to see Flaco. Four other hawks were dive bombing this hawk. I think they were all juveniles, but couldn’t be sure. It was an interesting sight.