7/5, Riverside at 102

Due to our crazy schedule, we haven't been over to check on the Riverside red-tailed hawk nest since May, with one brief exception on a windy mid-June Sunday evening when any self-respecting hawk had probably gone to roost for the evening.

Unfortunately, there was sad news from the nest site a week ago. Although all three baby hawks had fledged, probably a week earlier if not closer to two, reports were that one of them was observed on June 29 as being grounded and apparently sick. The bird was caught and taken to the Wild Bird Fund, but we have heard that it died the next day.

5/13, Riverside at 102

The baby red-tailed hawks at the Riverside Drive are now big enough to be seen during feeding. Two were visible Monday afternoon about 4:15.

First view of the nest on Monday showed the mama hawk perched on the bare branch that sticks out to the side of the nest. Just chilling and preening and maybe watching passers by on the park walkway below. Also the cars making the loud and almost constant drone below.

Then she popped up and flew a tight loop and landed on the nest just as papa arrived with food.

After which he took off and mama started feeding the nestlings. At first she was toward the right side of the nest and one could just see the top of the fuzzy head of one nestling to her left as it was getting fed. Then one could see a bit more of it, including a few beak-to-beak transfers of morsels.

But then mama switched to the left side of the nest and quickly enough two baby hawk heads became very visible.

If there's a third baby hawk up there, then it's likely the youngest, not big enough yet to be seen or to muscle its way in for a bite. Hard to say at this point, but it should be easier to decide in a few days.

5/9, Riverside at 102

I arrived to view the 102nd St. red-tailed hawk nest at 3:20 and found a feeding in progress. The papa hawk arrived just seconds after I did.

He hung about for about a minute and a half, half of it leaning over the nest bowl alongside the female and half of it perched down to the side.

And then he departed, leaving all the work to mama. And work she did, a good 15 minutes of activity or more. From her changing position she was plainly feeding at least two babies, and three would not be a surprise.

5/6, Riverside at 102

Although I have yet to witness a feeding, the behavior of the female red-tailed hawk at the nest along Riverside Drive is utterly convincing that there's been a hatch and that she has at least two baby hawks to tend to. Monday afternoon around 3:30 it looked like the nest was empty, but then momma flew off a nearby branch hidden by leaves and across the street, perched a moment, then took again into lower Riverside Park. She returned after five minutes and perched on the side of the nest.

She remained in that spot the next 10-15 minutes that I was there. Although she leaned into the nest a few times and maybe moved something around, it was casual. But what she did do that was suggestive was that she kept looking from one side of the nest to another, and maybe also in between, thus suggesting she was watching two or possibly three babies snoozing in the nice but slightly muggy weather.

Hopefully the vantage point I found will remain clear and so maybe a baby hawk will become visible within a few days. As foliage gets thicker and branches shift about, sightline are opening and closing.

4/30, Riverside at 102

I have been checking on the red-tailed hawk nest in Riverside Park the past three weeks, but the only day that there was much to see, the light was terrible. But given when it seemed first egg might have been laid, right now is time to monitor the nest to see if there's been a hatch. Unfortunately, the trees have all leafed out, so sightlines are a mess.

Nevertheless, I did catch the female moving about on a very nice Tuesday afternoon about 4:00.

She was up and down a couple times about 15 minutes apart, perhaps checking the skies to see if the male was bringing food. Nope. She did look down into the nest a couple times suggestively, and did not seem to do any egg-rolling. So... maybe?

4/9, Riverside at 102

A gorgeous Tuesday afternoon around 3:00 found the female red-tailed hawk from the new Riverside Park nest out getting a little exercise. I first spotted her from a distrance perched close to the nest, but over the next 7-8 minutes she flew from tree-top to tree-top in the near-by area, apparently looking for just the right stick to add to the nest.

Quickly enough she returned to the nest and the male could be seen making a hasty exit from egg-tending duty.

The trees in Riverside are starting to sprout green foliage, so hawkwatching is about to get more difficult.

4/6, Riverside at 102

Late afternoon Saturday at the Riverside red-tail nest was quiet when I checked in.

The female was in the nest, watching the passers by.

The male was perched a block away on the scaffolding atop The Master, hunting or doing neighborhood watch or both.

4/4, Riverside at 102

Despite a couple miserable days with lots of rain, things seem to progressing normally at the red-tailed hawk nest in Riverside Park at 102nd St. The female's tail feathers were just visible poking up from the nest when I popped by for a look around 2:30. No sign of the male at first, but while I was speaking with another neighborhood hawkwatcher who reported seeing a nest switch-off earlier, he quietly snuck into the area and perched 450 feet up atop The Master apartment building. Moments later, he parachute-plummeted all the way to the ground, attempting to snag a bird on the park lawn not far from where we watched. He failed and flew over to a near-by tree. Gave us the "you weren't watching that were you?" look.

But then he flew back to a tree by where he'd made the snatch attempt.

Ogled the leaf-covered lawn.

Checked the sky.

Checked the ground again.

Looked around.

And then flew back across Riverside Drive, passing not far over cars and pedestrians, apparently un-noticed by all. When last seen, he was heading down to the lower level of Riverside Park around 105th St.

3/31, Riverside at 102

Brooding at the red-tailed hawk nest in Riverside Park at 102nd St. has been in progress for four or five days now, as I saw the parents switch off egg-tending duty back on Wednesday. When visiting the area now, you're likely to see the female's tail feathers just poking up above the edge of the nest, and the male off doing his thing in the general area. But there are times like Saturday afternoon when the female will take a short break off the nest without the male showing up to fill in.

Sunday afternoon about 3:00 looked like it was going to be a boring one. The female's tail was just visible. But oh, hey someone is soaring way high above the area.

That's not the male. That's a bald eagle on its way toward Central Park.

The male, it turned out, was close by. He was perched way high on the scaffolding at the top of The Master apartment building, which just a few visits to the area has suggested is a preferred hangout.

3/25, Riverside at 102

A gorgeous afternoon to be a hawk or a human.

The female hawk was hanging out in the new Riverside Park nest when I swung by around 2:30, just chilling and watching the skies. No fussing about with the nest layout.

She took off, disappeared for a while, then re-appeared in a treetop near 103rd St. Perched there for a bit, then flew down to a tree across the street from the nest.

No sign of the male during my brief visit.

3/24, Riverside at 102

Much to my surprise, it seems I have new neighbors. I learned last night of a new red-tailed hawk nest in Riverside Park at West 102nd St., a location I could walk to in maybe 5 minutes if there wasn't a fence in the way.

But sure enough, checking the spot on Sunday afternoon, there was a large nest high up a tree right over the main walkway alongside Riverside Drive. Once I found a good spot across the road to see what might be in the nest, someone within sat up and looked back.

Moments later, there were two hawks up there, as the male flew in with a new stick to add to the decor.

But within 30 seconds both hawks took off to the north. The female perched in the branches of a tree a block away.

The male had disappeared down into the park, but soon returned and landed in a tree not far from me.

It looked like he might have more twig or stick collecting in mind.

Indeed.

But he gave up on that effort and took off. Shortly after it seemed he might be chasing off a crow to the south. Good luck with that, as I could see that the crow had two teammates in the area.

Meanwhile the female returned to the nest.

Where she fussed about and kept checking the sky and nearby buildings, but eventually settled down.

Cathedral Hawk Nest History

(First posted 2012-11-08. Last updated 2023-10-24.)

The table and notes below detail the chronology of the red-tailed hawks who nested at the Cathedral of St. John the Divine from 2006 through 2021.

During this time, the hawks nested in two locations at the east end of the cathedral. During 2006-2014 (but skipping 2009), the nest was in an alcove behind the shoulders of the large statue of St. Andrew on the apse wall. From 2015 through 2021, the nest was in the turret above the nearby large statue of St. Peter. Previously, there was a failed nesting attempt reported "somewhere" at the cathedral in 2000. In 2022, the hawks seem to have "picked up sticks" and moved to a new nest site on the Columbia University campus, where they have now nested for two seasons.

As of the end of the 2021 nesting season, there had been 31 or 32 known hatches at the cathedral nests since 2006, and 28 young hawks had fledged (flown from) the nest. What happened to most of the young birds after they "left home" is unknown and cannot be known. We do know that four or five fledglings suffered injury or sickness soon after leaving the nest and were rescued and taken to wildlife rehabilitation. Two of these rescues had to be euthanized, one was committed to a wildlife sanctuary, and the other one or two were eventually released.

After the nest site shifted from the alcove behind St. Andrew to the turret above St. Peter, successful hatches and fledging of baby hawks plunged. The exposed (to weather) location of the second location seems a likely explanation for some/much of the decline, but there may also been a change in fertility when a new male hawk appeared in 2018.

The adult hawks nesting at the cathedral have not been the same pair over the duration that this history details. There have been at least three females (Isolde, Madeleine, unnamed, ...) and at least three males (Tristan, Norman, Wyatt, ...).

Year	Adults	1st Hatch	Nestlings	Fledges	Notes
2006	Isolde & Tristan	Apr. 27?	2 (3?)	June 12 June 16	1, 2, 3
2007	Isolde & Tristan	Apr. 27	3	June 12 (46d) June 15 June 15
2008	Isolde & Norman	May 4	2	June 15 (42d) June 15	4, 5
2009	—	—	—	—	6
2010	Isolde & Norman	Apr. 18	3	June 4 (46d)	7
2011	Isolde & Norman	Apr. 26	3	June 12/13 (47d) June 12/13 June 16
2012	Isolde & Norman	Apr. 17	3	June 3 (47d) June 6 June 8
2013	Isolde & Norman (?)	Apr. 21	3	June 1/8 (41d/48d) June 5 (45d) June 9	8, 9
2014	Isolde (?) & Norman	Apr. 22	3	June 4 (43d) June 7 June 9	10, 11
2015	Madeleine & Norman	June 15-20?	1	—	12, 13, 14
2016	Madeleine & Norman	Apr. 18	3	May 27 (39d) May 30 June 2	15, 16
2017	Madeleine & Norman	May 17	3	July 2/3 (46d) July 2/3 July 5	17
2018	Madeleine & Wyatt	—	—	—	18, 19
2019	Madeleine & Wyatt	May 4	2	June 19 (46d) June 19/20	20, 21
2020	Madeleine (?) & Wyatt (?)	—	—	—	22, 23, 24
2021	(?) & Wyatt (?)	—	—	—	25, 26
2022	(?) & Wyatt (?)	—	—	—	27
2023	(?) & Wyatt (?)	—	—	—	28

The date given for first hatch is based on the first reported observation of either feeding behavior or other activity by the adult(s) that suggested that there was a baby hawk in the nest. This is likely to be a day or two after actual hatch. In one extreme case (2015), the first clue of the baby hawk's presence may not have been observed until 7-10 days after hatch. It is possible that the first evidence of a nestling in 2016 was also a few days late.

First flight (fledging) of a baby hawk from the cathedral nest was usually about 45 days after first signs of a hatch.

Notes

¹ A previous nest on the cathedral was reported in the April 2, 2000, New York Times, but a week later the newspaper reported that the male hawk had died. No further info is known about that nest site except that it was visible from St. Luke's hospital.

² Stick collecting and possible nest building at the nest site on St. Andrew's shoulders was photographed in 2004. However, a nest by Central Park's North Meadow (approx. 3/4 mile away) was reported to have successfully fledged three babies in 2004. The 2006 cathedral nest may have originated as a "secondary nest" for the Central Park hawks.

³ Regular observations by photographers of the 2006 nest did not begin until mid-May. Two photos posted on the Urban Hawks blog strongly suggest that there were three nestlings. If so, the third was spotted May 27, about four weeks after hatch, but was never seen thereafter.

⁴ Tristan is presumed to have died Feb. 21, 2008, after suffering a wing injury and becoming grounded the day of a snowstorm. Norman was first observed on Feb. 25.

⁵ One 2008 fledgling was rescued a few days after leaving the nest and was diagnosed with lead poisoning — possibly due to ingesting material from repair/replacement then occurring on the cathedral apse roof. After a few months at rehabbers, it was deemed unreleasable and was subsequently turned over to a wildlife sanctuary.

⁶ No nesting activity was seen at the cathedral location in 2009, and other hawks were often seen in the area in late March. Did Isolde and Norman not use the site because of stress from the renovation scaffolding which remained in place until early May? Did they try to nest somewhere else? Both were seen perched atop "Norman's chimney" at St. Luke's hospital on April 19 for over a half hour, suggesting they had no eggs or nestlings to worry about.

⁷ Two 2010 nestlings died before fledging, one at about three weeks after hatch and the second at about five weeks.

⁸ A hawk found dead in Central Park's North Woods after Hurricane Sandy (Oct. 29-30, 2012) was thought to have been Norman. However, the 2013 male hawk looked like Norman. It is also possible that the deceased hawk was Isolde (see note 10). Or the deceased hawk may have been a "floater" who was in the area at the time.

⁹ The first 2013 fledge was very early and was plainly a nestling who fell out of or was bumped from the nest, landing directly below in an alcove between cathedral chapels. It stayed in the alcove for seven days before venturing out. Meanwhile an elder sibling made an actual flight from the nest.

¹⁰ A sick adult hawk was rescued from the cathedral grounds on June 4, 2014, and taken to wildlife rehabbers. Despite promising signs, it died of frounce on June 18. Due to the relatively small size of the bird, it was thought to be the male, but a necropsy by state wildlife officials revealed it was a female. As Isolde had not been not considered "small" by hawkwatchers, was this a different female and if so when did she replace Isolde? Or was Isolde the hawk killed in late 2012 by Hurricane Sandy (see note 8)?

¹¹ One fledgling from the 2014 nest was rescued from the cathedral grounds on June 18, 10-14 days after leaving the nest, and found to be suffering from frounce, the same disease that killed its mother. Also, in mid-July a fledgling red-tail was rescued in northern Central Park and found to be underfed and underweight. Odds are that this hungry fledgling was one of the cathedral birds. Both of these fledglings were reported to have recovered and to have been released by rehabbers a few months later.

¹² Despite construction of the very nearby apartment building, red-tailed hawks returned to the cathedral in 2015. But likely due to increasingly cramped conditions in the St. Andrew's nest alcove, they shifted to a new nesting site about 30 feet away, in the turret above the statue of St. Peter. Stick collecting in that turret had been observed during spring 2014. It is not known when the new female hawk, Madeleine, arrived except that hospital workers had reported seeing her by mid-February 2015.

¹³ The 2015 hatch was six to eight weeks late. There was apparently a failure of the first clutch of eggs, which were laid in late March and should have hatched by the first of May. Following a series of matings observed in early May, the female laid a second clutch. Hatch date is estimated. Feeding behavior was first noted June 25, but subsequent observations indicated that the single baby was so large that it must have hatched well in advance of that date.

¹⁴ No reports were received that the single 2015 baby hawk fledged the nest, nor was a fledgling ever reported in the area around the cathedral. The nestling was last reported seen on July 24, while an observer on Aug. 1 said the nest was empty and that there was no fledgling hawk in the area. Fledging had been expected roughly Aug. 5, so it is believed that the bird died in the nest at age roughly six weeks.

¹⁵ Although the first 2016 fledge appears to have left the nest early, it did not look overly young to have done so. Instead, it seemed rather adventuresome and ambitious. It may have hatched a few days before the first observation of a feeding occurred, and so age-wise was entering the "fledging window".

¹⁶ On June 1, 2016, an injured fledgling red-tailed hawk was picked up by NYPD at or near Manhattan Ave. and 109th St., about 3-4 blocks from the cathedral nest. Presumably this was the first fledgling. Although X-rays indicated there were no broken bones, the fledge apparently suffered a spinal injury that paralyzed her legs. She was euthanized a week later as her condition continued to deteriorate.

¹⁷ The 2017 first clutch of eggs apparently laid about March 12 failed. Matings were observed early/mid-April and a second clutch laid about April 15.

¹⁸ The 2018 male has different throat feather coloring from the male of 2017 and prior years, i.e., his throat feathers were white. It is not known what happened to Norman.

¹⁹ Although it appeared in late March 2018 that the female had started brooding a clutch of eggs, in mid-April there were signs that there had been a nest failure. The hawks were observed mating on April 20, suggesting that they were making a second try. But thereafter there was no sign of the female brooding a second clutch of eggs.

²⁰ Although the first sign of hatch in 2019 appears to have been late, it also seems to have been no more than that, just simply late. Other Manhattan nests started reported hatches beginning about April 20.

²¹ The second 2019 fledgling was found grounded the afternoon of June 20 in the cathedral service area just north of the nest. It had some head trauma and was taken to veterinary care and rehab. Unfortunately, this fledgling also suffered from lead poisoning. Its condition deteriorated while it was at the rehabbers, and eventually it had to be euthanized.

²² An adult male red-tailed hawk was rescued close by in Morningside Park on March 14, 2020, but was reported to have died from injuries the following day. Although this may have been Wyatt, some evidence suggests the hawk may instead have been an interloper in the area.

²³ Photos on May 22 and 23, 2020, of what is presumed to have been the female hawk show different throat feather coloring from that of Madeleine.

²⁴ A brooding adult was observed in the nest on April 10, 2020, and as late as May 22. From May 23 on, no observations showed any hawk at the nest. Despite some very slight evidence of a possible hatch about May 10, it seems more likely that there was no hatch at all and the nesting failed.

²⁵ Observations of the adult hawks by this blog during 2021 were so limited that it was impossible to determine whether either was one of the hawks from 2020. However, other observers have indicated their belief that the 2021 (and possibly 2022) male was Wyatt.

²⁶ Brooding of eggs at the nest in 2021 was not observed until April 23, roughly the same week as some other nests in Manhattan reported first hatch. Hatch was thus expected roughly May 23, but observations of the nest on that date saw no hawks of any age in the nest. A third-hand observation from about May 10 suggests that the female may have had an injury and possibly died.

²⁷ The SJD nest was empty of a brooding mother during visits in April and May. It seems probable that the 2021 male and a new female were the birds who instead nested about 0.2 miles away on a balcony on John Jay Hall overlooking the main quad of the Columbia University campus. Two babies fledged from that nest, although at least one of them subsequently died of frounce.

²⁸ Despite early season reports from neighborhood dogwalkers of hawk activity around the cathedral, there was no hawk nesting there. As it turned out, hawks had instead returned to Columbia University, nesting on the clock alcove high on the south side of Havemeyer Hall. They fledged three young birds.