3/17-3/18, Quick Sightings

You've probably already guessed that I'm not a morning person. So once again, the weekend hawkwatching reports don't begin until late in the day.

Saturday
Reached the Cathedral about 6:05; no hawks in sight. Five minutes later down by the Morningside Park dog run, I'm trying to get a picture of a red-bellied woodpecker (I think), when a hawk flies over, heading south. From the snow-covered upper lawn, I get a look at it circling around once or twice before darting west... and south of the Cathedral over the "close". Five minutes later after I've stumbled through the slushy mix back up to Morningside Drive, the hawk flies out of the close, up the street to perch on the corner of the hospital roof, and then further up the street until it disappears around 115th St. I wander up that way for a minute, but see nothing. Then walk around the Cathedral and into the close to see what might be so interesting that I've seen hawks head this twice in three days. No clues are found.

Sunday
Reached the Cathedral just before 5:00. From 113th St., no sign of a hawk in the test. But just as I reach the park overlook at 112th. St, I see a hawk darting about just to the east. Looks like two gulls are harassing him. He dives into the trees down around 113th St., re-appears a minute or two later, circling about over the rooftops, getting higher and higher until I somehow lose track of him.

Him? Well, a few lousy photos do seem to indicate a light belly band, so it was Tristan.

I wonder about Morningside Park for the next 45-50 minutes. A male cardinal by the dog run, turkey tracks in the snow in several places, a fox sparrow. No hawks.

Just after 5:50 I've been up Morningside Drive to 118th St. The views along the park wall at 117th St. are pretty good for watching the hawk territory of south Harlem and the north end of Central Park. Ah-ha. A hawk 300-400 high in the direction of Schomburg Plaza; it might be over the projects bounded by Lenox, 112th, Fifth Ave. and 115th. (Click the pic at right for a better look.) Over the next five-six minutes, it makes its way south, toward Harlem Meer. It disappears and re-appears once or twice until I lose sight of just before 6:00.

I headed back toward the Cathedral and hang about another 20 minutes. Time to leave — just one last look at the nest from 113th St. Hey! Barely visible but definitely there is a hawk head. Also just barely visible from the south side.

Either the nest has been built up or she's sitting lower than when I saw her up there a week and a half ago. No, she's definitely sitting lower than she was back on the 6th and 8th.

I depart at 6:30 for Sunday dinner. Isolde's no longer visible in the nest, but neither have I seen her leave. But it's good to have seen her; I'd been getting concerned about not seeing any activity at the nest in the past week.