Tuesday
A nice evening to be out and about, and apparently the hawks thought so too. Three sightings made, although it wasn't clear if it was two hawks or three.
6:22 p.m. - Just reached the corner of 112th St. and Amsterdam Ave., and robin chirps are sounding straight up on an apartment roof. It takes five minutes of wandering around the area below the scaffolding on the narthex tower at the cathedral but I finally spot a feathery posterior poking out almost all the way up at the top.
Because of the rails in the way, it was never clear exactly which hawk this was, just that it was an adult red-tail.
6:33 - It seeming like this hawk isn't going anywhere, and the close being otherwise quiet, head down toward Morningside Park to look for the fledglings.
6:39 - Looking back uphill from Manhattan Ave., can see a suggestive looking dark spot at the very top of the cathedral scaffolding.
Definitely not the same spot as where we saw the hawk perched ten minutes ago. Hmmmm, two hawks up there? My guess is both adults.
6:54 - After a quick pass around the south end of Morningside Park, without results, head back up 110th St. There are definitely two hawks on the scaffolding and both are where I first spotted them. Pix confirm that one on the southwest side of the tower has a red tail, but I can't tell whether the one on the southeast side has a red (adult) or brown (juvenile) tail.
6:58 - But as I'm crossing back over 110th St. (most of the sidewalk on the north side is blocked off for construction), I get a quick look at a hawk overhead and then heading east over Synod House. And once in the clear where I can see the top of the scaffolding again, both hawks are gone. Drat.
7:35 - After another long stroll through Morningside Park, with no sign of either hawk having stayed there despite flying that direction, back in the Cathedral close. There are robin alarms going off. Hmmm, and catbird meows, too. The white peacock looks concerned about the noise.
7:38 - Whadayaknow, right in the heart of the catbird noise...
7:43 - The fledgling stands up and starts looking around. Oooh, this is definitely Brownie.
7:46 - And then she soars across the pulpit lawn and the driveway and over the plywood fence into the playground area. I find her perched atop a fence along the nave wall. That look of mild concern: "that didn't go as planned". She checks the ground nearby.
7:49 - I see something rat-like scurrying around on the ground below her, and Brownie tries to jump it. No luck. She flies over to the plywood fence along the driveway.
She looks around, copes with a dive-bombing robin.
Turn around and watches the grass around the play area.
Considers the options.
Considers some more.
Pause for a scratch to release all that thinking tension.
7:57 - Try another leap, into the grass right behind the guard house. Drat, nothing again. Hop up on the chainlink fence. Look around. Ignore the guy with the camera, the two security guards, and the workman who are watching. They're too big to eat anyway.
8:00 - Fly a few feet over to the plywood fence.
8:01 - Then fly at something over on the pulpit lawn. Miss again.
8:05 - Fly over to the fence around pulpit, perch, look around, stare at squirrels. Try to jump one.
8:07 - Back up to pulpit fence. Again jump at squirrel stupid enough to walk along 7-8 feet away. Drat again. Must learn to leap at squirrel's head rather than fluffy tail.
8:10 - Sit on bench for awhile. Ignore peacock walking by. He's also too big.
8:16 - Back to pulpit fence. Damn robins just have not shut up.
8:22 - Give up for night. Fly over to tree above Amsterdam Ave. sidewalk and think about roosting. Robins over there aren't happy either.
8:35 - Still in tree across street from Hungarian Pastry Shop.
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