Wednesday evening after the brief rain shower found the three Cathedral of St.John red-tail fledglings dispersed, not even two of them hanging out together as they have often been seen.
First sighting was from a distance, with one hopping about on the wood structure atop the unbuilt transept. By the time I reached the area, it was out of sight, but perched some 70-80 feet up between the nave and crossing was a second bird.
Preening and scratching was all it had on it s agenda.
Squirrel whining near the corner of Morningside Drive eventually led to the discovery of the third fledgling perched in a tree alongside the street outside the entrance to the hospital Plant Pavilion.
Only the second time I have seen one of the fledges in a tree, although evidence scattered along the sidewalks suggests it's just my bad timing.
Again, the fledge seemed to have little more than preening on its mind.
It did shift 10 feet further along the branch, but not for any obvious reason. Some 15-20 minutes later, one of the neighborhood robins finally contributed an alarm call to alert others of the fledgling's presence.
Back over at the cathedral, the fledge high up the wall had disappeared, but a quick scan revealed it simply flew across the street to the roof of the Minturn Pavilion.
As I moved to a spot that should provide a better angle for a photo, I almost walked right up to the first fledgling, who had dropped off the transept and onto a guard hut.
Jes' lookin' around here.
Stare. Stare. Stare.
Hmmm, something interesting over by the stonecutters' shed?
And off he went. First to a tree near the shed, then an attempt to return to the transept but a foot too low, a circle around the parking lot, then down 113th St. at cartop level and across the other parking lot to the top of a lamp post.
Okay, getting late and dark. Must settle down and preen.
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