Urban Hawks

June 5, 2024June 5, 2024Eagles, Falcons, Hawks and Osprey

Riverside Church Peregrine Falcons

After visiting the 102nd Street and Riverside Drive Red-tailed Hawk, I took the M5 bus up to Riverside Church. I was greeted by the sounds of five hungry Peregrine Falcons. One of the parents brought food just as I arrived and then two more times. All the prey looked to be feral Rock Pigeons.

After about thirty minutes, much to my surprise there was a fledgling on a lower level of the church tower at the same level as the roof. (It didn’t seem to be banded like the other young birds. Maybe it avoided capture earlier in the season.) At first I wasn’t sure if it was a fledgling or had just fallen out down from the nest but soon I saw it flying. It flew very well and went to a spot just below the nest.

The parents have a ledge where they prepare pigeons to be eaten by their offspring. They remove the wings and remove larger feathers. While a parent was doing this, the fledgling took the food from the adult.

The action should only get better later this week. When everyone has fledged there will be a few days of food exchanges and all kinds of fun. I would recommend making a visit if you live on the Upper West Side.

June 5, 2024Riverside Park Red-tailed Hawks

102nd and Riverside

I spent about 30 minutes at the 102nd Street and Riverside Drive nest. All of the eyasses look healthy and they had just been fed when I arrived. They look great. They seem to be the youngest of the hawks I’ve been following this year.

June 5, 2024June 5, 2024Southern Central Park Red-tailed Hawks

Mealtime at NYAC

On Tuesday, I was lucky to find two of the fledglings eating in an oak tree just inside Central Park. There mother was keeping watch from a nearby tree. One fledgling patiently waited until the other was done eating to eat the leftovers.

I couldn’t find the third fledgling or the father, but I only spent about an hour in the park.

June 3, 2024June 3, 2024Southern Central Park Red-tailed Hawks

NYAC Fledgling Treasure Hunt

The fledglings have started using trees and that makes them much harder to keep track of. This afternoon it took me over three hours to find all of them and their parents.

When I arrived one fledgling was back on the nest. It stayed there but eventually flew to the right hand shield before flying into Central Park late in the afternoon when the father brought some food.

One fledgling was in a tree across from the Essex House about 50 feet inside the park. It was staring me in the face but without any harassing robins or jays, took me awhile to find. The father was in the next tree keeping watch for about an hour.

The mother appeared around 5 pm on 200 Central Park South.

The last member of the family, was nearby the whole time. I could hear it calling for food, for about an hour but couldn’t find it. Eventually another hawk watcher found it.

So, we saw everyone but it took time to find them all.

June 3, 2024June 3, 2024Northwest Central Park Hawks

93rd Street Fledglings

I had a wonderful time catching up with the 93rd Street fledglings on Sunday night. Unlike the southern end of the park at the NYAC, this section of the part is quiet and peaceful. The fledgling were flying around in trees close to the nest, as were the parents.

I think all three young hawks have fledged but there is a small chance one is still just branching in the nest tree. It wasn’t clear as both parents and more than one fledgling made stops on the nest tree.

This location really is an ideal starting point for the fledglings lives. There are lots of great trees in a quiet area to explore. Two of the fledglings are staying close to each other. Sharing branches and flying after each other as they move around in different trees. They’re rather cute buddies.

June 3, 2024June 3, 2024Southern Central Park Red-tailed Hawks

NYAC Catch Up

I was away for a few days and I missed some excitement at the NYAC. The last fledgling ended up having troubles landing on the glass balconies of 200 Central Park West and ended up being in a small tree at ground level. The police took it to the Wild Bird Fund and it was then returned to the park.

When I was there on Sunday, all three fledglings were on the NYAC. Two on the nest and one on a windowsill on the 7th Avenue side. The parents were together on scaffolding on Hampshire House.

However, when I returned at dusk, I didn’t see any of the fledglings on the NYAC and could only find the mother, who was looking out from 222 Central Park South.