3/4, Rustling in the Treetops

Out a bit earlier than usual on Sunday. Passed by 103rd St. at 2:10 and saw that the monk parakeets were at home. But they were huddled up under the air conditioner and not working on re-building the nest.

Walking down 110th St. toward Morningside Park at 2:20, I stopped at the corner of Columbus Ave. to wait for the light. Then realized that one of the red-tail hawks was perched across Columbus Ave. on the slab-antenna structure atop a small building at the corner of 109th St.

A look at pictures afterwards revealed that it was Isolde.

Isolde flew across the street a minute later, perching in the trees along 110th St. overlooking Morningside Park. But then she took off north banking eastward and I lost sight of her. From the park overlooks along Morningside Drive, there was no sign of her atop any of the usual or likely Harlem rooftops.

A look up at the nest site revealed it was empty. Rather than hang around here I opted to go get a latté and then go exploring, and not in Central Park either.

It was about 4:40 when I returned to Morningside Park. Walking between the rockface and the ballfields, I saw a hawk fly into the nest. By the I got to the top of the 116 Steps, the nest was empty, but Isolde was perched in a tree close to the 112th St. overlook.

Isolde hung out there for a few minutes, backlit in the setting sun. It was hard to tell if she was looking downward a lot or if her head was droopy after a tiring day.

Isolde changed tree three times over the next ten minutes.

She ended up just inside the upper 114th St. entrance to Morningside Park. Five minutes later Tristan came flying up Morningside Drive. For a moment I thought he was going to perch alongside Isolde. Oh, no, he's got something else in mind. It's spring and a young male's fancy...

Four or five hawk shrieks and a flurry of wing and tail feathers sticking out in all directions and it was done. Tristan immediately took back off, flying toward the nest with a stick in his beak. He made another pass by the nest a minute later, but when I wandered down that way to see what was up, he instead flew up Morningside Drive and then disappeared around 116th St.

Isolde stayed perched at 114th St. for another ten minutes, looking rumpled, presumably because of the breeze and the chill.

While I made another quick walk down near the nest she too took off for parts unknown.

After strolling down to the lower level of the park and then back up, I hadn't seen any further sign of the hawks. At 5:50, exit.