7/17, Dinner on the Overlook

Tuesday

Not quite as nice as Monday, but the weather is decent.

6:44 - Moments after walking down the steps at the southwest corner entrance of Morningside Park, a hawk is visible circling about over Manhattan Ave, up around 112th and 113th Sts. Even at this distance, it's fairly apparent through teh camera viewfinder that the tail is brown, so it's a fledgling.

And then she shoots across the park and up somewhere above the 116 Steps.

6:50 - And after climbing up the hill, too, and looking around a minute, the fledgling is plainly visible on a tree branch overhanging the 112th St. overlook and the sidewalk along Morningside Drive. She has her face buried in something.

No sign of an adult around, so if there was a food hand-off, I missed it. But whatever dinner is, it doesn't look very big so maybe the fledge caught it herself.

7:06 - Despite the small size, dinner kept the fledgling occupied for 15 minutes, and several pedestrians got an eyeful. I had to assure one jogger that seeing a red-tail easting dinner in a tree along a Manhattan sidewalk is not a weird thing to happen. Almost the contrary these days.

The fledge has stuff all over her beak...

... so it's time for some vigorous scraping along the branch.

7:07 - Look around for a few minutes.

7:10 - Then fly across the street to a tree overhanging the opposite sidewalk near St. Boniface Chapel.

7:12 - Flap over to an adjacent tree.

7:13 - Then up to a branch overhanging the center-line of Morningside Drive. mess about with the loose bark on a branch. Again, that might be beak hygiene.

Hmmm, checking that belly band, I'd guess it's Eldest.

7:23 - Except for turning around to look the other way, the fledge is still on the same branch. Preened a little bit, too, so despite being directly above traffic, she may be planning to stay here a bit. Perhaps I'll wander back into Morningside Park to see if her sibs are around.

7:45 - No one down below except the six geese and the great egret who's been hanging around lately. Time to exit.

7:48 - From corner of Amsterdam Ave. and 112th St., it sounds like there is robin chiriping coming from around the scaffolding on the cathedral's narthex south tower.

7:51 - Robins have definitely been upset about something, but no hawk that I can see. Maybe it was a kestrel?