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.
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.
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.
