May 27, 2014

5/27, St. John the Divine

The red-tailed hawk nestlings at the Cathedral of St. John the Divine are showing that the day is approaching when they will fledge the nest. They now sport varying amounts of head feathers according to their ages, and wing practices have started up. The only problem is that the nest has gotten so built-up that space for flapping wings is constrained.

Twenty minutes of activity early on a gray Tuesday evening found all three nestlings visible. One, presumably the eldest, was trying wing exercises.

Cathedral Hawk Nestlings (0771)

And each time would end up on top of St. Andrew's head as he tried to find a spot with more room.

Cathedral Hawk Nestlings (0773)

Meanwhile, the tail feathers of a second were poking out at the side. It looked one of the birds was probably pecking at the remains of an earlier meal.

Cathedral Hawk Nestlings (0776)

Anything flying over Morningside Park or southwest Harlem got their full attention.

Cathedral Hawk Nestlings (0838)

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