I have yet to see definite hawk activity at the Cathedral of St. John the Divine this nesting season, nor have I heard of such from any of the neighborhood birdwatchers and dogwalkers. But a few photos taken early evening Friday suggest that there may be a mama hawk brooding quietly in the cathedral nest.
Sorry about the fuzziness, but the distance was about 800 feet.
Hawk nesting season began on Wednesday evening in Manhattan, with reports from three nesting sites that the female red-tailed hawks were spending their first overnights in their nests. This usually precedes egg-laying by a day or two. The three nests in question were the new Riverside Park nest at 116th St (aka, Morningside West, shown above), Inwood Hill Park, and the Central Park Fifth Ave. nest.
But it seems one nest was running ahead of that schedule, as word came Thursday afternoon that the hawks at J. Hood Wright Park (uptown near the George Washington Bridge) had been spotted doing a switch-off on their nest. That means there's at least one egg in the nest, so when the female needs a break from egg-tending duty, she switches off with the male on keeping the clutch covered.
So look for first Manhattan red-tail hatch come about April 10.
Late on a blustery Wednesday afternoon, one of the new Morningside Heights hawks was busy hunting in the vicinity of the nest site. Very busy. Hardly had it been spotted in a tree inside Riverside Park at 116th St. then it was on the move.
And into a tree a half block south.
Constantly scanning the ground for prey.
Switch places again, dropping down to a stairway railing, where we find that the hawk is very used to humans.
Several people walked past as it perched there, some less oblivious than others.
Hop over to the next railing, and keep looking around for something edible.
Then back up into a tree above the path.
One more short flight to a nearby tree, and then the hawk vacated the scene, heading down toward the highway before veering south.
