Because of the storm which hit the area last Sunday, I thought today would be best spent checking whether Manhattan's two uptown red-tailed hawk nests — Inwood Hill Park and Highbridge Park — had survived. The hawks up there are old school; they still build nests in trees. Not only were they still there, but one nest even included one new nestling that I could definitely see and likely a second.
Inwood
Although I got out and about earlier than I usually do on weekends, the long subway ride and walk meant that I didn't get a first look at the Inwood Hill Park nest until after 3:15. And that was from below. By the time I managed to ascend the path (part of which had been seriously damaged by the storm) to where the best viewing point should be, it was close to 3:30. There I broke out in laughter, because Bruce Yolton had beaten me there by just a few minutes; apparently he had had the same idea about checking nest conditions.
It took 5-10 minutes to locate the nest, as some of the useful little landmarks seemed to be missing. But finally it was found, the characteristic clump of tree-top branches, with the pale splash of feathers on the Inwood mama's back marking the top the mass.
She also seems to have a palish beak/face, so also became a bit more visible whenever she looked our way.
So the nest was in good shape and the Inwood mama looked healthy. But apparently egg-hatching time is not nigh, as she spent almost the entirety of the next hour sitting quietly in the nest. The only exception was a moment early during our visit when she made some nest adjustments or, perhaps, rotated her eggs. The rest of the time she spent observing her neighborhood, perhaps glaring at the small group of jays that twice set up a ruckus near-by.
The weather, of course, was gorgeous, but the exposed location of the nest made me wonder if the Inwood mama was overheating a bit. She'd open her beak now and again, but there were no vocalizatons.
There was no sign of the Inwood male the entire time we were there. We did wonder if the jay noises might have been provoked by their spotting the male, but if so then he was well hidden from human eyes.
Highbridge Park
Bruce and I decamped from Inwood around 4:30 and headed for Highbridge. As we walked down 190th St. just after 5:10, I had my eye on the antennas atop the Isabella seniors' apartments. Ah-ha, the Highbridge male is keeping an eye on things, watching the southern approaches to his territory from the look of it.
Five minutes later we were standing across the street from the back side of George Washington High School looking at the hawk nest. And what is going on? Mama is standing the edge of the nest, occasionally leaning down in...
...but it seems mostly just looking around.
(Looks, and glares, our direction may have been prompted by the muffler-less motorcycles racing up and down the top end of Amsterdam Ave.)
Although the leaning in would suggest a feeding, the more frequent lhe looking around part was making me think it was something else. And all these branches and twigs and new leafs in the way aren't helping me figure it all out. This behavior goes on for over ten minutes, until about 5:30 when the Highbridge mama settles back down into the center of her nest.
Not long thereafter, Bruce announces that he thinks he can see a nestling. A look at a sequence of pix on his camera's LCD does indeed show something fuzzy like the top of a nestling's head moving about in front of mama's breast. Although my own camera set-up doesn't have as much zoom as Bruce's, a review of my own pix two hours later revealed likewise.
Yeah, I know. Where's the nestling in the pic, you're asking. If you click through and then click the "All Sizes" icon on Flickr, you'll see a larger version of the pic. The nestling's head is the little bit of fuzz in the twigs to the right of mama's beak.
Another 10-15 minutes later, Bruce announced that he thought he could see a second nestling. Although my own photos aren't so hot in that regard, I'm inclined to agree with him. But check his blog for better pix which provide better evidence. (Ooooh, ahhhh, isn't that 4th picture of his cute.)
So the Highbridge mama spent the next half hour alert and looking around.
And then just past six hopped back up, and started a feeding. This time I was dead certain there was a nestling as it was plainly visible through my small field glasses.
And perhaps that's a twig, but I think I can even see an eye or a dark beak.
This feeding went on until about 6:15, and then mama settled back down. Bruce soon announced he needed to leave to meet someone, and I left with him.
Cathedral
But wait there's more...
After another subway ride and a stop to get a snack, I walked up to the back side of the Cathedral of St. John the Divine at 6:55. No activity at the nest, and no one perched on Gabriel's horn up top. A few minutes later I stepped into Morningside Park, and before I had gone 30 feet, Tristan flew up and settled into the top of a close by tree.
After 15, it was apparent he wasn't going to go anywhere until bedtime, so I mosied down to the lower level of the park. Ah, a geart egret, but not the same one as last time. It looks smaller and a greenish... that part of a bird's face behind the beak that's sort of part of the beak. Also very white eyes, not yellowish at all.
And then at 7:30, the bats come out. At first it's just one, but later a second is visible at the same time.
The weather is nice and light is good, so Tristan seems to be showing no sign of going to roost as early as a few days ago. Just after 7:50 the egret takes off for the night, and finally five minutes later, Tristan decides to find a better spot to sleep. But this time I'm watching, so when he opts to not go north I at least see where he does go. It's turns to be close to the southeast corner of Morningside Park, a spot from where he can even see the nest.
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