All seemed quiet at the red-tail nest at the Cathedral of St. John about a half hour before sunset Wednesday, but 15 minutes later it got weird.
About 5:40 I realized a hawk had landed on the tall chimney at the hospital, and moments after that discovered that another was hopping about on the statue of the archangel Gabriel atop the cathedral, from wing, to horn, to crook of an elbow, then down to a finial (see above pic). As I watched the latter, it was joined by another hawk, and the two fluttered about the finials and crenellations in the nest area for a couple minutes.
Then the two hawks were joined by a third.
All three took to the air and disappeared over the hospital to the north. They were back in another minute, circling over lower Morningside Drive and Park. It was apparent from the relative sizes that that there were two males and one female up there. One male (Norman) was chasing the other, while the female (Isolde) circled nearby as backup.
After several set-tos, the interloper took off to the north. Subsequent review of (poor) photography revealed that the trespasser was also an adult.
From first sighting of the hawk atop Gabriel to the final chase-off was 10-11 minutes.
Very exciting doings. So glad to hear the nest appears active.
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