I spent the early evening on the east slope of the Great Hill (NW Central Park), following up reports of a sighting of owls there four days ago. It was slow going with no owls in sight and fairly quiet. My best bird was a very vocal Carolina Wren.
When dusk arrived, a young Red-tailed hawk landed in a Great Hill tree, and then stayed for a few minutes. It took off and made the begging sound young Red-tails make. I followed it to the West Drive, where I saw one hawk leaving (a parent?), and a hawk perched (the fledgling?), who then flew off back towards the Great Hill.
I was able to watch it circle the hill, and then head north. I can’t be 100% certain but there’s an excellent chance the young hawk was the healthy Cathedral fledgling. (The other Cathedral fledgling had lead poisoning and has a lame foot.)
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