7/5-7/6, Breaking a Barrier

A fallacy of hawkwatching is to assume that this year's red-tail fledglings will be found doing the same things in the same places as last year's fledglings. For example, last year around July 5-6, the two fledglings could often be found in Morningside Park perched on the dead tree branches on "rockface hill", the steep, rocky slope between 112th and 113th Sts. This year, I have only seen one perched in that area once. And instead I've seen two of this year's trio do something that I didn't observe's last year's kids do until July 14 or 15.

Thursday

An ugly day: overcast, muggy, and always seemingly on the verge of rain.

Reach Morningside Park around 6:10 or so. No sound from fledglings or complaining birds along lower Morningside Drive, and now it's already starting to sprinkle a bit. Observe the great egret in the park pond for a little while and walk back to south end of park.

6:48 - Having heard robin complaints near southeast corner of Morningside Park, check trees along the street. Finally realize that there is a hawk fledgling perched across the street on the security fence dividing apartment rooftops between 250 and 254 Manhattan Ave. A couple small birds are harassing her, and she's got a narrow perch between coils of barbed wire. A minute later she disappears.

Checking last year's photo collection, first observation of a fledgling perched on the rooftops across Manhattan Ave. may have been on July 14. For certain one of them crossed Manhattan Ave. and 110th St. on July 15.

6:51 - Now notice hawk perched all the way across the park on the roof of the south wing of the Cathedral School.

6:54 - Get one picture of school hawk from near corner of 110th and Columbus, just good enough to reveal that it's an adult. I suspect it's papa Tristan. Then he's gone.

7:06 - Checking out rockface hill, look across park to notice a hawk perched atop a fire escape on the apartment building at 272 Manhattan Ave., at the northeast corner of 111th St.

7:14 - Finally find the single spot on Manhattan Ave. from where the fledgling is visible.

7:18 - Light is bad and weather's not much better. Time to exit the scene. Note on passing through Morningside Park that the fireflies are out an hour early.

7:22 - Last glimpse of fledgling from across park reveals she's still atop 272.

Friday

Weather significantly better after the rain last night cleared the humidity out. Temperatures not too bad, although the coming weekend doesn't look to be so nice.

And fledglings very active this evening.

6:36 p.m. - Along Morningside Drive, one of the regular dogwalkers says she saw two hawks perched in the park trees just south.

6:37 - And there's Brownie perched in plain sight near the 111th St. overlook.

6:39 - Looks like an adult just flew way overhead and alit somewhere on the apse of the cathedral, perhaps on a finial or a set of crenellations.

6:46 - Just as I'm thinking about heading further downhill to find the other fledgling supposedly about, a hawk flashes past heading north to south. Brownie lets off two whines and follows along. Presumably that flash was the adult seen a few minutes ago.

6:48 - A hawk takes off from the top of a tree near the southwest corner entrance of the park, heading east. That may have been the adult, exiting after a food delivery.

6:51 - Following robin noise, finally find a fledgling perched in a tree between the corner park entrance and the near-by playground area. If there was a food delivery, she didn't get any of it, because her crop looks empty and she whines now and again.

Definite dark belly feathers but not heavy. I think this is Eldest.

6:55 - Another fledgling comes out of a treetop just to the north and flaps over to a tree along 110th St.

6:59 - Okay, this is Brownie. It doesn't look like she's got anything in her crop either, and she's acting like she'd attack a mouse on the ground if she could spot one.

7:01 - Back to check on Eldest. She looks real hard at something on the ground...

...then takes off but heads toward the corner entrance, landing on a branch very close to park wall. Several pedestrians can't help but see her, and they stop to check her out.

7:05 - Cripe, she's only 10-15 feet from the sidewalk and almost at eye level. Have to back the lens off a bit to get all of her in the frame.

7:08 - Eldest takes off to the east. Looks like she's in the trees near the southeast corner entrance.

7:09 - Brownie still in the same spot as 10 minutes ago, but shifts to another branch as I pass by.

7:12 - As I reach southeast corner of Morningside Park, Eldest (I presume) exits area and heads back west.

7:15 - Brownie's left her spot too. A fledgling I can't identify is briefly seen flying over park path just below 111th St. overlook

7:19 - Plenty of catbird meowing near 111th St. overlook but no sign of a hawk fledgling. One catbird has her mouth too full to say much.

7:23 - From steps at southwest corner entrance, brief sight of a fledgling flying north up the path. But I can't trace where she went.

7:30 - After walk up path and then back down Morningside Drive, another glimpse of a hawk flying back down the path toward south end of park.

7:37 - No luck listening or looking for fledglings in trees. Try standing in center of ballfields and wait to see a hawk fly around. Oh, there's mama Isolde perched on 301 West 110th. But she's perched on the edge of the roof rather than on an antenna. A small bird is divebombing at her, and within a minute Isolde gets off and drops off the roof, angling east toward Central Park.

7:43 - Robins are very noisy near southeast corner of park.

7:45 - And there are two fledglings perched on the edge of the roof at 272 Manhattan Ave.

I'm not sure about this, but my feeling is that the one on the right is Brownie and the one at left Eldest. No sign of Youngest/Runt.

Good place to perch, too, especially if you like to sit and preen in the evening sun, catching a few rays before bedtime.

7:55 - Time to think about leaving. Crossing ballfields, look back and see both fledglings are still atop 272.

7:58 - But from far side of ballfields, look back and see that Brownie is gone, and Eldest is standing up like she's thinking about leaving, too.

8:02 - Exiting Morningside Park at southwest corner, make turn around corner to walk up to Morningside Drive, and see a fledgling fly into a treetop 40 feet away.

8:10 - After some looking around, etc., fledgling (Eldest?) takes off.

Oooh, she's a good flier.

Three or four circles over the area and then zip, she's off toward the southeast corner of the park.

8:11 - Exit.

7/2, Squirrel Game

Sometimes the robins aren't so helpful at locating the hawk fledglings in Morningside Park. It's too bad the squirrels can't be a little louder when they see one.

Monday

6:10 p.m. - First glimpse of a hawk for the day comes while standing at the 111th St. overlook on Morningside Drive. There's a little bit of robin noise and then a hawk flies down the park path, about 20 feet below me, and somewhere into the trees at or close to the south end of the park.

6:15 - No sign of the hawk, and no robin noise.

6:20 - While standing near the south end of the park, turn around to see another hawk flying over the ballfields, west to east, and alighting on a chimney on a building at the corner of Manhattan Ave. and 112th St.

6:21 - Hawk leaves chimney and flies across 112th St. Lost to view behind trees and rooftops.

6:48 - Oh, gee, you have got to be kidding. Not only is there a hawk perched on the same branch on the tree down by the ballfield where one was seen last Friday and Saturday, but she's got a sibling perched one branch over.

Heavy belly-band on the one at left suggests that she is Brownie/Middle.

6:53 - Brownies seems content with her perch, but the other is restless. First she turns around to look the other direction.

6:56 - Then flies up to a tree on the rock face.

6:58 - But won't settle down just yet.

Wiggles a bit and then flies into the trees uphill and southwest.

7:00 - Then flies back near where Brownie is perched, turns back around and flies back uphill somewhere.

7:05 - But is easily found perched just 20-30 feet away from the 112th St. overlook along the street. Lovely pose, but so backlit.

Not quite sure, but I'd say the active fledgling has a moderate belly band and so is Eldest.

7:11 - She's staying put now, but doing a lot of looking around. Perhaps at mice below?

7:12 - Or perhaps at squirrels?

7:17 - Well certainly the squirrels have been looking at her. In fact, one has come by to check her out, crawling up the tree to her branch, then sneaking out toward her. A staring match ensues.

7:18 - Eldest makes her first lunge. No luck.

7:20 - Second lunge. So close.

And fly back to perch.

7:22 - Another lunge and Eldest ends up in another tree.

7:24 - But returns to the same perch. Glares at another squirrel.

7:26 - Another lunge. Now she's decided she's had enough and flies off to a tree over the rock face.

7:31 - Couldn't find Eldest's new perch. Thinking about leaving but note something largish is perched atop 300 West 110th. Not a hawk, but apparently a crow. Then a couple crows.

7:32 - Hawkwatcher Winkie then arrives and relates some recent sightings by her and her husband. Apparently the fledglings have been raoming about quite a bit, as they have seen them as far north in the park as 119th St. and also near the pond and water fountain.

Ooops, a hwak was just seen flying along the path beside the ballfields, north to south.

7:58 - No sign of a hawk alongside the ballfields. There's sound of an unhappy catbird somewhere, but the treetop foliage is getting darl. We note that the crows are perched on the antenna structure on 112th St., then Winkie observes that there's a hawk there too.

It's mama Isolde.

Strange situation. I've never seen isolde perched there before, although who would look at a rooftop edge when a more inviting antenna perch is there. The hawks don't seem to be harassing her overmuch. In fact, a couple flybys and they all take off and leave her alone.

8:02 - And then a fledfling flies over our heads and across the ballfields, from somewhere near the rockface and into a tree along Manhattan Ave. at 111th St.

8:03 - And another fledgling flies across the ballfield, from near the 112th St. overlook on Morningside Drive and into the same tree as the other.

8:04 - Second hawk was either Eldest or Runt as the belly band is not heavy.

8:06 - One of the two hawks flies out of the tree and across the ballfields toward the southwest entrance of the park.

8:07 - Unhappy with that perch, she takes off, does a circle around the ballfield and comes back to perch in a tree closer to the corner.

8:12 - Well, that perch was just okay. Try another tree a hundred feet east along 110th St. We have a decent view of her now, and it looks like Eldest.

8:15 - No, not that one either. Try another tree halfway down the block.

8:18 - She doesn't seem to have settled down, but it's time for me to leave anyway.

6/30, Heed the Robins

Friday evening there was robin noise suggesting that hawks were around. The next day, the robin's were even more helpful.

Saturday

5:38 p.m. - From corner of 110th St. and Columbus Ave. (Morningside Drive), it's obvious there's an adult red-tailed hawk perched atop 301 West 110th. It's Isolde.

She was apparently not alone up there, as subsequent checks revealed a small bird flitting about, giving her what-for. A bright red color and what seemed like a crest (yes, hard to see at a distant of 500 feet or so, but still...) suggested a cardinal.

5:40 - After walking in the southeast corner of Morningside Park, then along the lower park path up along the west side of the ball fields (with Little League game in progress), there's plainly a hawk around as the robin complaints in the area are pretty thick.

5:55 - Didn't find the hawk along the path ascending up to Morningside Drive. Now walking down the street, it's obvious that there has to be hawk in the park trees right around 11th St. The robin ruckus is roaring.

5:59 - And there he is, perched about 20-25 feet right above where park path join near the southwest corner entrance.

I walked right under him before, but didn't look far enough out on that branch.

6:06 - He looks pretty content with his spot and is mostly just looking around at the robins.

I say "he" because the light belly band indicates that this is the cathedral nest hawkling that we thought looked smallest, i.e., "Runt", and so was either last-born or male or both. Without another fledgling nearby to compare sizes, one can no longer be so sure that he's that much smaller, but let's continue to say "he" for the time being.

6:20 - Runt looking disinclined to move, I walked up the path along the ballfield again. Little League game still in progress, so there's a lot of noise to mask robins in this particular spot. But for whatever reason, I look up at the same branch where a hawk fledgling was perched last night and... there's one there today.

Again, this is a tough spot to get pictures of a perched fledgling. I'm also amazed nobody is asking what I'm up to.

Hard to tell from the angle, but the belly band doesn't look too heavy. So this is probably Eldest.

6:26 - Back to check on Runt. He's turned around and is looking up the park path.

Or over his shoulder at a robin.

6:35 - Moving up the path, is it even possible to see the fledgling perched overlooking the ballfield? Just barely from a few spots. And I'm not the only one checking her out.

A squirrels wanders out on her branch and they look each over for a minute before the squirrel moves off.

6:40 - Check on Runt again.

6:43 - And exit. Family dinner is Saturday this weekend.

Sunday

Spent a few hours checking over two parks for hawks and luck wass pretty bad. Even 90 minutes spent at Morningside Park, from about 6:50 to 8:15, revealed just a total of one sighting. At about 7:15, a hawk flew across the south end of the park. I thought then that it was probably an adult heading toward 111th St.