6/11, First Fledge?

Monday was exactly one year since the first red-tailed hawk baby of the 2006 season fledged from the Cathedral nest.

Seemingly, June 11 must be a lucky day.

(Skipping pix for the way. The most interesting ones form a 15-20 shot sequence of a flapping nestling, but they're badly lit and it would take too long to create an animation.)

Monday

Left my office to walk over to the Cathedral just as rain started to sprinkle.

6:46 p.m. - Arrive at 113th St. viewpoint as rain is beginning to come down harder. First get out binoculars to see what the red-tail nestlings are up to, as I can see the pale frontside of one on the north side of the nest.

6:49 - Rain really beginning to come down now, but I'm close to a big tree with lots of foliage so stick with the binoculars rather than get out the umbrella.

Suddenly Isolde appears in view, zipping up into the nest from the south, or possibly somewhere below. She perches on St. Andrew's hand (see kids, this is how it's done) and then a minute later is off again.

6:50 - Finally have the camera out and take a picture. Just two nestlings visible, standing up and watching the rain fall.

Oh, you silly bird! The nestling on the north side has decided that now would be a good time to hop out on St. Andrew's hand.

6:51 - Flap-flap. Back into the nest. Wisening up now, girl?

6:52 - Ah! No. She's trying again. And this is one of the tentative sidesteps rather than a real hop. Backs off.

6-53 - Trying again! Biiiiig sidestep. Whoa. She's either losing her balance or else has discovered what rain does to stonework. She's slipping.

Some sort of metastable point is reached. She's not perched on St. Andrew's forefinger, but she's got a wing draped over his hand and she's steady for a moment as she thinks about what to do next.

6:54 - Flap-flap-flap. I can see both of her feet sticking out from each side of St. Andrew's thumb as she slips and slides. But as graceless as it looks, a second later she's climbing back in the nest.

6:56 - Y'know. One other sibling was watching the entire experiment intently, but what's the other one doing? I don't see her at all.

6:59 - Belately discover Isolde perched on Gabriel's horn, getting very wet.

7:00 - Winkie walks up and says she was by a bit earlier and has only seen the two nestlings. Also, mama Isolde has been sticking close to the nest and even circling about overhead. Three of us begin to theorize that the missing nestling has fledged.

7:03 - Rain has dropped off and we start wandering along Morningside Drive, listening for nestling noises.

7:10 - We confab down by the Cathedral School. No hint of a nestling near the sidewalk on the west side of the street.

7:30 - One of our dogwalker and hawkwatcher friends (Captain's person) swings by and reveals the apparent scoop.

While walking Captain earlier in the day, she found out that a nestling had fledged just after 11:00 from a hawkwatcher who had been there. The baby apparently landed on the roof of Ansgar or Boniface chapel, or else got up on one of them quickly. It's curiosity was piqued by workmen 50 feet south on the scaffolding atop the Baptistry, but they apparently did not return the looks.

7:48 - Wow, almost 45 minutes since I last took a picture. But there's been nothing new to photograph.

Two of us (the other is a falconwatcher down from Riverside Church to check out the neighbors) have cruised up and down Morningside Drive between 113th St. and the Cathedral School, and west along 113th to little clinic entrance. We've scanned chapel roofs -- peering through the railing along the edge of the roof of Ansgar chapel, peering back into the recesses of Boniface, and tried to see what we could of Columba through the foliage -- nada. Listened for noises in the foliage along the street -- more nada.

Meanwhile, Isolde's been perched on Gabriel's horn the entire time, and whenever we've checked the nets, it's just been two nestlings.

8:05 - I'm by myself now. Shoot a few more pix of the nest. One thing we have noticed several times is that a nestling on the north side of the nest has peered over and downward many times. Is the missing nestling/fledgling on a chapel roof below? If so, the peering nestling seems more curious than attentive to whatever might be down there.

8:20 - First and only glance of Tristan of the evening, as I happen to see him flying north across 113th St., halfway down the block toward Amsterdam Ave. Despite checking the obvious spots on the hospital roof, that's the one time I see him.

8:28 - Lighting sucks; last try to take hawk pictures. Isolde's still up on the roof. The two nestlings are still standing around in the nest. Put camera away.

8:34 - One last meander down Morningside Drive listening for baby hawk squeeps in the foliage overhead.

No squeeps, but a chitter. A fat raccoon is climbing over the chain link fence by Columba chapel, but on meeting me stops, then crawls back down the other side.

8:40 - Exit.

6/10, A Bird on the Hand

A step closer to fledging, as at least one and probably two of the Cathedral's baby red-tailed ghawks stepped out on St. Andrew's hand.

Sunday

6:49 p.m. - After a Fruitless Adventure checking out a city park for a rumored hawk nest, returned to the Morningside area. From the entrance to Morningside Park at Morningside Avenue and 114th St., it's possible to see the red-tailed hawk nest up-hill at the Cathedral, but a good pair of binoculars is required if you want to see much.

So although four hawks were visible, Isolde up on Gabriel's horn and three nestlings on the nest on St. Andrew's shoulders, I didn't notice then the curious perch of one of the nestlings.

7:01 - On climbing up to Morningside Drive (and finding assorted hawkwatchers about), I realize that one of the nestlings is perched on St. Andrew's hand, aka, the launching pad.

7:04 - As always, something flying by gets the attention of multiple nestlings.

7:05 - Isolde's on Gabriel's left wing. Maybe the kids were watching Isolde do a circle overhead.

7:07 - The hand is a cool spot, but the nestling jumps back into the nest and then promptly up on St. Andrew's head.

7:08 - Which means that another nestling can check out the hand perch.

7:09 - That's try to check out the hand.

Tentative steps to step allllllll the way out on the hand don't work well, and that means loads of flapping to maintain balance and get back in the nest.

7:13 - But finally the second nestling gets out on the hand. Whoa, wow, flap, flap, flap, flap. Time to just sit quietly and let the heartbeat go back to normal. Maybe check out the view.

7:14 - Okay, a little more confident now. Let's lean over and peer closely at this curious hard stuff that the perch is made out of. Not like those wobbly nest twigs at all.

7:20 - Nestling has got herself turned around, thank you very much.

7:25 - While I'm changing viewing position, the nestling disappears from Andrew's hand, but I do so see a hawk soaring north over 113th St. Isolde is still up on Gabriel's horn, but I'm told that Tristan made a fly-by food drop-off.

7:36 - A small bird (someone suggests it's a kestrel) buzzes Isolde (she's back on Gabriel's horn) a couple times.

7:40 - Isolde buzzed again, and apparently she dcides she's had enough. But if she apparently flew off to the southeast, who's watching the nest?

7:42 - Tristan found perched on the decorative atop St. Luke's hospital.

7:50 - Kids are apparently done noshing in the nest. One jumps out on Andrew's hand. Pretty confident about it, too, No hesitation. But then jumps back into the nest.

7:53 - A nestling back out on Andrew's hand. Again, hopped out there like she knew what she was doing.

7:55 - Now this is tricky. Nestling wants to reverse perch on Andrew's hand from looking south to looking north. Flap, flap. Flap-flap-flap. Ai! Flap-flap-flap. A solid 15 seconds later she's finally turned around.

7:58 - View must not have been that exciting. All nestlings back in the nest.

8:12 - The light is shot, so camera is back into the pack. But there's enough light for nestlings to remain active, preening, looking around etc.

8:25 - Nestlings still up, although hard to see. Tristan still on hospital roof.

8:30 - Tristan disappears. No sign of Isolde.

8:35 - Exeunt.

6/8-6/9, Tentative Flapping

Fledging time for the Cathedral red-tail babies is nigh, but they seem unready. The nest "roof", plus the confines of there being three nestlings each seeking her own space, make it difficult to exercise the wings without interference.

Nevertheless, some flapping has begun, to the extent that one expects that the first fledge will be someone getting bumped out of the nest as someone else exercises. The "launching pad" of St. Andrew's hand is also getting some attention, although no one seems to have actually jumped out there yet.

Friday

Humid, almost misty evening, so picture taking was a little more difficult.

6:45 p.m. - Arrive to find other hawkwatchers have gathered because fledging time is approaching. But it also means sometimes finding the good watching spots are alreay occupied.

6:47 - Camera now out, one can see two nestlings on the north side of the nest.

6:52 - One of them has jumped up on St. Andrew's head.

6:55 - Wander around the corner to see what the third nestling is up to.

6:56 - Bingo! They're all up.

But the trio are looking in different directions, no coordination at all, so different things have their interest.

Ah, the I-can-twist-my-head-around stare.

7:02 - Gabriel's horn is empty. Was there a parent up there when I arrived.

7:10 - Three kids still in their respective spots.

7:11 - And Isolde now perched on Gabriel's horn.

7:20 - Nestling on St. Andrew's head is back in the nest, and most of the view now is another nestling's back.

7:25 - Big stretch of both wings from nestling on north side as she steps back into nest. The sticks in that spot seem wobbly, and although we're seeing some wing stretches and flaps, I wonder if most are for balance.

7:40 - Loads of preening and looking around from northside nestling.

7:41 - Noticing a couple people looking up at the roof of St. Luke's, I check the decorative vase on the corner and see Isolde is now perched there. Actually, no, she and Tristan are there.

7:45 - Northside nestling tries to jump from the nest edge up on St. Andrew's head but slips. Big wing flap.

7:50 - Two nestlings on north side. One facing outward, one inward but looking back over her shoulder. They watch something fly over Morningside Park, then preen.

7:55 - Check on third nestling on south side of nest. She's having a good scratch.

8:00 - Nestlings sitting around.

8:10 - Both parents take off. One heads off toward Douglass Circle. It seems a bit late to go hunting in Central Park, doesn't it?

8:13 - Big wing flap from single nestling on north side of nest. Sometimes it seems like she (or whoever is perching in that spot) is eying St. Andrew's hand and thinking about trying to perch out there, but when they try to move out there, the nest sticks shift and flap-flap, back into the nest.

8:22 - Quiet again, but we've found mama Isolde perched atop 301 West 110. So no, no hunting in the park. No idea where Tristan went. Perhaps a bit too early for him to go to roost.

8:27 - Looks like the three nestlings have all gone to bed.

Exit.

Saturday

It's cooler out but the air is clearer. None of that humid mistiness from yesterday.

6:04 p.m. - Arrive at nest area to see one nestling perched on St. Adrew's head and another on north side of nest.

6:12 - Third is on south side of nest, but not all the way out.

6:13 - Hawk yoga with a leg stretch from nestling on Andrew's head.

6:17 - And off Andrew's head back into nest.

6:18 - Finally find a hawk parent perched in the area. Tristan is on oen of the pointed cooper roofs over at St. Luke's.

6:33 - Nestlings all seem to have their attention on something inside the nest. Doesn't seem like they're really feeding, but maybe someone is pecking at what's left of a meal. or perhaps they're plotting a conspiracy.

6:34 - Mama Isolde spotted atop 301 West 110.

6:48 - All seemed quiet for awhile, and the only other hawkwatcher has left because of the cool temperatures. But now one of the nestlings pops back up on St. Andrew's head. All can be seen from a viewpoint along 113th St.

6:49 - Whoever's on Andrew's head turns around, and then sits so that her back is outward.

6:52 - She turns back around, and she and another nestling both watch something in the sky to the north. But Tristan is still on the roof of St. Luke's.

6:54 - Preen, preen, preen. All I can see is feathery hawk bottoms.

7:10 - I'd been on the verge of leaving, but then a nestling made another cautious step towards St. Andrew's hand. Nest sticks wobble a bit, flap-flap-flap, jump back in nest. Whew.

7:12 - Another try, but same result.

7:15 - Big flap, and another try at Andrew's hand. Damn, stopped short again. Flap-flap.

7:16 - Big stare at Andrew's hand. Nestling on south side of nest can be seen looking over at sibling's toil.

7:20 - Gotta go. One nestling still on Andrew's head after 30 minutes plus.