4/4, Sheep Meadow

The nests above 110th St. having all been visited in the past month, on Saturday I decided to try southward. I was rewarded with a good look at one of the adults who nest on the edge of Central Park's Sheep Meadow.

First sight of the hawk was high up a tree south of the nest, but a few moments later it flew over to the nest.

It stayed for less than a minute, and there was no switch-off on egg-tending. Pix did show, however, that the other hawk was down in the nest.

The hawk, presumably the male, took off to the east towards the Mall. Following along, I found it ripping into a meal.

Something with fur.

Which proved to be a rat, but apparently just half of one, or a small one.

Dinner lasted less than 15 minutes.

A large fraction of the meal when down in one messy gulp. Then it was time to clean the schmaltz off the beak.

And look around for a couple minutes.

Fly back to check on the nest for a moment or two, and then the male was off and away.

As the sun got lower in the sky, the head of the Sheep Meadow female could just be seen poking up from the nest.

2/1, Turtle Pond & 72nd St. Transverse

A long walk on Saturday through three parks found no hawks, so on Sunday I headed for the lower half of Central Park, where multiple juvenile red-tails have supposedly been busy. Sure enough, they were there.

First found was a young hawk hunting around the Delacorte Theater and Turtle Pond, spotted when he zoomed low across the pond and up into the solo tree on the north bank.

He spent 10-12 minutes there, ogling the ground below for mice and giving the photographer the occasional dirty look.

After flying back to a tree overlooking the theater, he was last seen diving down in the trees with a group of blue jays jeering him on his way.

Next to be found was another juvie red-tail hunting along the park's 72nd St. Transverse. On his first view, he was flying up into a tree near the Bandshell and the Bethesda Terrace.

But he wasn't idle, exiting the tree a couple minutes later, diving down toward the Dead Road and out of sight. Sighting over the next half hour had him working the area to the west, around Cherry Hill. When last seen he was flying past the Falconer statue.

Sunset was approaching and it was time to call it a day. But one last hawk was waiting to be found. High up a tree along the west end of the Lake near the 78th St. entrance, another young red-tail was digesting dinner.

Possibly that last bird was the same as the first one who had been hunting just a half mile north.