7/9, Cross Perching

It was the nicest evening in a week, and the cathedral red-tail fledgling made it that much nicer by perching where he could easily be seen, the top of the cross on St. Savior chapel.

In addition to scanning the skies, he occasionally deigned to check the sidewalk below.

At one point it looked like he almost slipped off.

Perhaps he'd been thinking about leaving, as a a couple minutes later, he took off, circled over the adjacent parking lot a couple times, and then perched up on the cathedral roof on Gabriel's head.

He stayed up there quite a while. The hospital kestrel paid him a couple visits, but they were more in the nature of warnings rather than go-away harassment.

Although the hawk fledgling is easily distinguished when perching on the archangel because he prefers Gabriel's head rather than being out on the horn, he did jump down and gingerly stepped the length of the instrument. But as soon as he reached the end he jumped off and flew down to the upper cross at the end of the apse roof. There he stayed as sunset approached.

7/7, Detente?

First raptor sighting this evening was of the hospital male kestrel. He seemed to be staking out some territory, but wasn't harassing the cathedral red-tail fledgling, who was nowhere in (my) sight. A half hour later, pigeon activity erupted in the usual area on the hospital roof and then the red-tail came flying along, perhaps chasing a meal. Then out of sight again. A bit later I found him perched quietly on the cathedral nave, where he stayed until sunset.

It almost seemed the kestrel had taken a chill pill and was leaving the red-tail fledge alone as long as the latter stayed away from the hospital. Perhaps whatever the kestrel was defending no longer needs defending? But at sunset the red-tail took off west along the nave before hooking around the West Front. The kestrel gave brief chase.

Although it looked like the fledgling was scoping for a roosting site in the close, he popped back north over the dome of the cathedral crossing and was gone.

7/6, Hotter 'n Hell

Sometimes finding a hawk fledgling is a matter of luck.

The young cathedral red-tail seemed to be in hiding early Tuesday evening. Perhaps he was tucked away somewhere where shade gave him a bit of relief from the hellacious temperatures. But just before sunset when I was watching a couple of the cathedral peacocks, he came flying along the eave the length of the south side of the cathedral. He started to perch on a small ledge on the unfinished tower on the West Front but thought better of it and returned halfway to a tall finial.

The local blue jays took note. But it was hot and it was late; they only made only one weak attempt to fly up and chase off the red-tail.