Circumstantial evidence accumulated last week indicating that there had been a hatch at the red-tailed hawk nest at St. John the Divine. The mother could be seen fussing around for extended periods, resting on the side of the nest rather than down in the bowl, etc. Then this past Sunday, Urban Hawks captured some video of a feeding in which the fuzzy head of a baby hawk was visible through the nest sticks.
But that video was shot with a long lens from the far side of Morningside Park, How long until a viewer — with binoculars perhaps — could stand below the nest and see the baby? Well, that was Thursday.
Mama Madeleine was fussing about a bit when I arrived, but then she settled down toward the back left of the nest.
This was looking like it could be dull, with any baby hawks probably sleeping off a meal. But then there were some brief glimpses of the top of a fuzzy head moving about.
Not much of a sighting, but it lasted a minute or two and it was definite.
The baby quieted down, and all there was to see was Madeleine watching the area.
A last look back at the nest from a couple blocks up the street revealed that papa Norman had swung by for a visit. It seemed he was looking down at something white and fuzzy, and I debated whether there was other to his right.
The baby hawk(s) will be getting bigger and stronger so sightings will get easier over the next week or two. Benchmarks to watch for will be sightings of them flapping their wings and the appearance of their first real feathers, as well as getting a reliable count of how many nestlings there are. As it seems first hint of a hatch was roughly May 17 or 18, then fledging could occur about Independence Day,
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