Some time between mid Sunday afternoon and mid Monday afternoon, two of the red-tailed hawk nestlings made the big jump from the nest at the Cathedral of St. John the Divine. In all probability one went Sunday afternoon, as only one nestling could easily be seen in the evening. The second certainly went on Monday, as one neighborhood dogwalker reported seeing two in the nest early in the morning.
James discovered one fledgling about 1:30 Monday afternoon near the southeast corner of the cathedral close (the "campus" on the south side of the cathedral) near the new condos. I found it still perched in almost the same spot at 6:00. It occasionally moved about a bit, but stayed on the top of a section of chain-link fence about 30 feet long.
James had also found the second fledgling on the roof of the Cathedral School about 3:00, but by the time I arrived, it had already managed to fly back up near the eave-line of the cathedral roof and was exploring the top of a buttress.
The fledge on the fence seemed to be settling down.
I checked around on the other side of the cathedral, and the third baby red-tail was still in the nest. Presumably this was Youngest, now free to perch wherever it wants on the side of the nest without having to jostle an older sib out of the way.
And as for the parents, both were in the area. Mama Isolde was perched near the top of the West Front tower where one guesses she was able to see both of the two fledges. Papa Norman also put in an appearance about 7:00 and perched with her for a couple minutes.
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