A gray Wednesday evening provided the first sighting of a baby red-tail in the hawk nest at the Cathedral of St. John the Divine. The little one was big enough that when first seen, it was looking directly back.
Mama Isolde, meanwhile, was perched across the street on her favorite chimney at St. Luke's hospital. It's pretty typical to spot her there at this stage of the baby hawks' development.
The nestling was only sporadically visible, and only rarely from the usual viewing spot at the corner of 113th St. Eventually I did find a spot at the corner of 115th St. which while much farther away, gave a better angle to see what was happening in the nest.
The nestling could be seen stretching his little wings and it even seemed that there was sign of dark feathers beginning to grow in. Two photos (including the one above) strongly suggested the presence of a second nestling.
The St. John's nest usually has three baby hawks each year, but it often takes until the fourth or even fifth week after hatch before that is confirmed.
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