6/18, Fledglings over 113th St.

Two Cathedral red-tailed hawk fledglings spotted today, but they briefly hung out near each other.

5:41 - Arrive at Cathedral. No hawks can be seen perched along 113th St.

5:42 - One fledgling spotted on the rope tied around the base of the cross on St. Savior chapel.

5:53 - Still just the one fledgling spotted.

6:00 - An adult hawk is circling over Morningside Drive and the upper lawn of Morningside Park. After three circles, lands atop St. Luke's hospital.

Pix indicate it was Tristan.

6:01 - Fledgling still atop St. Savior chapel.

6:04 - Adult atop St. Luke's is perched with back to south, but Tristan is the one who likes to perch in that spot.

6:05 - Fledgling atop St. Savior is perking up. Almost looks ready to fly, but that may just be an "oops, I lost my balance".

6:07 - Fledgling takes off and heads for St. Luke's. Lands on the ledge around the edge of the roof, a few feet from the corner urn.

6:10 - Fledgling moves to inward side of fledge so that only her head is visible from time to time.

6:12 - All that activity overhead apparently caught the interest of another fledgling who had been hiding. I turn around to see one perched on the tall finial at the end of St. Asngar chapel. It strikes me that it's "small", suggesting that this is the last one born (the runt of the clutch) or is male, or both.

6:31 - After looking around for 20 minutes, Runt stands up, flails around for a few seconds, and then launches himself toward the hospital. He lands on corner urn just above sibling.

Drat, although I was perfectly placed and shot 10 pix of the sequence, I had just been monkeying around with camera settings, particularly the autofocus, and everything is just little too blurred.

But also note, the fledglings seem to have no trouble getting enough lift to ascend to the roof of St. Luke's. They're doing well in that part of learning to fly. But these have been just been straight line flights, and I haven't seen any attempts to bank or turn.

6:35 - Not sure when it happened but it looks like Tristan has disappeared from perch on hospital roof.

6:44 - Runt hops to another position on urn.

6:45 - First fledgling shifts position on ledge and can be seen moving around corner.

6:47 - Lose track of first fledgling on ledge halfway toward the balcony screens.

6:53 - Runt is flapping a little.

6:55 - Runt flies 25 feet over to another section of rooftop and out of sight.

7:00 - Exit.

6/16-6/17, Weekend Snaps

Now that red-tail fledglings are out of their nests, that means one spends more time looking for them than in taking pictures. But although you might be able to get closer and take picer pictures, you might not find them in the first place.

Anyway, having spent so much time by the Cathedral last week waiting for Divine red-tails to fledge, I was there less than two hours over the weekend. Fledglings were seen, but I suspect I only saw two of them.

Saturday

Arrived on the 113th St. side of the Cathedral to find almost all quiet. But a fledgling was hopping about on the scaffolding atop the Baptistry. As hawkwatchers know, scaffolding is like a jungle gym for a young hawk.

But five minutes later, she took flight, and with three-four hard pumps sailed over my head and across the street to the ledge around the roof of St. Luke's hospital. A mystery solved: now we know how the fledgling got there up two days ago despite its extreme youth. They're just better than we expected them to be.

The fledgling huddled near the base of Tristan's urn for some time, with the resident house finches showing up to give her some grief. Then the reason for her flight to the hospital roof appeared, as papa Tristan flew from the hospital roof back over to the arch of the Cathedral transept.

Hawkwatcher Winkie appeared about then and pointed out that another hawk was perched on the rooftop finial above the statue of St. Andrew. We cast about for the other two fledglings, checking the chapel roofs and peering intently at the incomplete north transept walls directly below Tristan. Some squalling in there suggested that a bird was not happy to be sharing the area. But alas, if there was a fledgling back there, we didn't see her.

Meanhwile, fledgling #1 had shifted position over to the protective screen on the balconies of the east face of the hospital. There too the finches followed.

As 8:30 approached, Isolde had disappeared but Tristan was still atop the transept arch, and the one fledgling looked like she would be roosting on the hospital balcony.

Sunday

Reached the Cathedral just before 6:00. Again things seemed quiet, but again a fledgling was found by the Baptistry, this time on the stonework on the side of the transept buttress. Looked like she was not enjoying the day's warm temperatures, as she had her mouth open to pant and wings spread a bit.

Bruce and Liz appeared from around Morningside Drive corner and indicated that another fledgling was perched in a tree alongside the Cathedral School playground.

The heavy belly band on this one seemed to indicate that this was "Brownie", who some hawkwatchers believe is the second oldest of the trio. (The assumption follows that the first fledgling was also the eldest.)

Suggestions of whining hinted that another fledgling was nearby, but I couldn't spot her in the treetop foliage. But I did spot one parent, probably Isolde, perched atop an antenna at 301 West 110.

After checking back up on the fledgling by the Baptistry...

...the three of us ended up again down by the playground checking on Brownie. Fledgling whining was more apparent this time, but Brownie's crop was full and the sound didn't seem to be coming from her.

After 5-10 minutes, it seemed we all needed to leave in our separate directions and I headed back uphill, stopped by the Baptistry for a couple more pictures and then was off to family dinner. Bruce, however, discovered the third fledgling along his exit route, perched in a tree further down Morningside Drive near the construction site.

6/15, Cathedral Hawk Fledging Complete

All three of the red-tailed hawk babies at the Cathedral of St. John the Divine have fledged. And one of them is already up to unexpected feats of daring.

Friday

5:44 p.m. - Arrive alongside Cathedral parking lot below hawk nest. Nest looks empty!

No hawks visible atop hospital roof or Cathedral roof, but ah-ha there's a fledgling perched on a window railing on the seventh floor of the hospital. She's preening.

5:45 - Bruce walks around corner and says he's seen an adult flying about but no babies. I point at hospital window.

Pix later reveal that the fledgling wasn't the only bird up there, as the male house finch was perched on the ledge just below.

5:50 - No fledglings obvious on roof of St. Ansgar chapel or the Baptistry, so walk around to Morningside Drive to check other chapel roofs. From one of the usual spots for watching the nest, notice out of corner of eye that there is a hawk baby perched on the roof of St. Savior chapel. She's on the rope knot immediately behind the cross at the end of the roof.

Last year's kids liked to perch on that spot too.

6:03 - An adult is spotted up on Gabriel's horn. Looks like Tristan.

6:15 - Fledgling at hospital window is an a sort of active period. Turns around to watch the street, flaps a bit, but stays on the railing.

She seems curious about the three tall animals on the street holding shiny things pointed her direction.

Or maybe she's just eying a dog. Hmmm, and where did that finch go?

6:29 - Doublecheck nest just in case the missing baby hawk was sandbagging us by taking a nap. Nope, no sign of a hawk up there.

6:30 - Don't know where she was, but Isolde was apparently somewhere near by. We see her flying around the end of the Cathedral away from us and likely into the close. Then she appears perched on Gabriel's horn next to Tristan.

6:35 - Fledgling on St. Savior roof has moved about a bit, but is still on crest of roof no more than 15 feet from the cross.

6:39 - Hawk up! It's Tristan circling over Morningside Drive twice before heading southeast toward Central Park. Apparently off to rustle up some dinner.

6:40 - Fledgling on St. Savior has moved back out to base of cross. Falconwatcher Liz and I briefly wonder whether there are two fledglings up there alternately ducking in and out of view.

6:55 - Near 112th St. overlook of Morningside Park, chat for a bit with a couple bird/hawkwatchers who were here earlier in the week.

7:02 - Back around on 113th St., notice that Isolde has also departed Gabriel's horn.

7:04 - Two people I was chatting with point out a hawk on the cathedral rooftop finial directly above the statue of St. Matthew. I think it's Isolde. But it has tawny breast feathers? It's the missing fledgling!

And she's up on the cathedral roof on what is apparently her first day of flight! Even if there's been some sort of fledgling switch and she's actually the hawkling who fledged on Monday, well, neither of last year's cathedral baby hawks got up there until mid-June. How'd she do that?

7:05 - And zip, she leaves the finial and flies down to the crennellations on the turret above St. Andrew and the nest.

7:07 - Rooftop fledgling is interested in things below, including sibling of chapel roof. Hi down there! Look at me!

7:09 - Tail end of an adult is noticed poking out from hospital ledge directly above fledgling on window railing. Who is that?

7:10 - Chapel roof fledgling is looking this way with interest. So is crennellation fledgling.

7:12 - Now adult tail feathers are poking from corner of hospital roof. Better than even odds say this is Tristan preparing dinner.

7:13 - Tristan flies over to cathedral roof, but near the transept and nowhere near fledgling.

7:14 - Thirty seconds later Tristan flies toward fledgling above St. Andrew and... into the nest? Huh? Fledgling looks as confused as I am.

7:15 - Over a minute later, Tristan exits nest, flies back across 113th St. and lands on window railing next to fledgling.

7:16 - Tristan's obviously got food in claw, but he's just standing there while fledgling does the twisted head stare.

What have you got there, Dad?

Is that for me?

Apparently not, because Tristan stays less than a minute, then with food still tightly gripped — it's a small bird of some sort, as I can see birdy feet dangling — flies over to air conditioner two windows away.

7:17 - If this is supposed to be a clever ploy to get the fledgling to fly over to get its dinner, it's not working. Instead it's Isolde who flutters up and lands next to Tristan. Now it almost looks like Tristan is eating.

Well, maybe not.

7:18 - Then Tristan takes off again, and ten seconds later so does Isolde. She's not carrying anything.

7:19 - Now Isolde is in the nest. Fledgling 15 feet above is looking down trying to figure what's up.

7:20 - Isolde flies back across street and perches on hospital chimney.

7:23 - We haven't checked on the chapel roof fledgling in a while. What's she up to? Jumping on the cross, that's what. Right now she's on one of the cross arms.

7:31 - Isolde back over to cathedral, this time perching on rooftop finial directly above statue of St. Peter (one statue left of St. Andrew).

7:34 - Tristan re-appears and perches on hospital roof. Takes off again, flies up Morningside Drive, comes back, and perches on higher part of roof.

7:36 - Fledgling on hospital window railing is either not interested in food on air conditioner, or else there's no food there. She's still on her railing, and looks so quiet one wonders if she's asleep.

7:41 - Walked down Morningside Drive to see if there was a better-lit angle of Isolde. Sort of, but mainly I notice that she gets buzzed by a kestrel a half dozen times.

7:43 - Chapel roof fledgling has jumped up on top of the cross.

7:48 - Back up on 113th St., notice rooftop motion and realize that rooftop fledgling has flown 25 feet southeast so that she is now perched on the crennellations above St. Peter and directly below mama.

8:01 - All five family members still in their respective same spots. It's really time for me to leave.

8:02 - No, it's not. As I'm starting my exit, dogwalker Dottie and a couple people in the doctors' parking lot are acting excited. Apparently the fledgling on the cathedral roof has jumped off, and soared right into the treetop directly above my head, a distance of about 275 feet. All while I was looking the other way.

Really? Are you sure? Well, there's no fledgling up there any more (although it could have jumped down behind a crennellation) and Isolde has vacated her finial, too.

8:05 - Finally with help from parking lot guard, I manage to spot feathery white hind end of fledgling moving about high up in the tree.

8:10 - Exit.