7/24, Dad on His Own

Again no sign of the red-tail fledglings around the Cathedral of St. John or in Morningside Park, despite looking about for about an hour and a half. Their papa, Tristan, did show up to survey the family domain between 6:15 and 6:30 and was still keeping watch when I exited at 7:15.

Since the kids fledged from the cathedral nest, there has only been one occasion when I saw all three together, back on Sunday, July 8, and a couple other days when I spotted each one of them. Several times two were perched together, such as the days that two were hanging about on the Cathedral School roof and the day that two were playing "peck your sister" at the south end of the park. Now it seems that the chances of catching the fledglings together are getting dimmer, as various hawkwatchers are guessing that an immature red-tail recently seen in Central Park near West 82nd St. must be one of the cathedral kids and not Ziggy from CP South.

Update: A panorama that I shot while roaming about. Click on the image to go through to Flickr and see larger versions.

7/21, Getting in Close

Saturday

Like Friday, another long spell in Morningside Park without a red-tailed hawk sighting. Entered the park about 6:05 p.m. and made two circuits, one all the way up to 120th St. Not much to see except the egret still/again hanging about the pond. Some sort of large function in the north, with barbecue, so any noise-minded hawk would have long vacated the premises. Elsewhere, the small birds are quiet, providing no help in finding hawks.

After a long sit and almost a nap on a hillside near the southwest corner of the park, exited the park just before 7:40. But having seen a fledgling fly into the cathedral Close on Friday and all the robin noise in there on Tuesday, decided to continue enjoying the nice weather with a stroll around the Close.

Whoa, I hear robins. But no hawk in sight. There's the white peacock wondering around the lawn, and there's the two "regular" peacocks sitting on the guard rail where they like to perch. Stop a moment to examine an interesting piece of "furniture" where two paths join, look up, and a hawk girl is perched 15 feet away in plain sight, right on the railing on the front of the old Leake & Watt orphanage building.

Almost immediately she flies 200 feet west and perches in a tree overlooking the drive, then a minute later another 125 feet to the scaffolding around the narthex south tower. Hey! There're two of them there. The first one seen (apparently) flaps up to a platform about 40 feet up where I can only intermittently see her, while the second hops around a bit about 25 feet off the ground, first looking up to see what her sister is doing...

... then to look around at what's on the ground.

Meanwhile, the fledge upstairs begins to trundle along the platform heading toward Amsterdam Ave. Then as she gets close to the street side of the tower, the lower one flies up to join her. I rush out to the street. Just one of the duo is visible from across Amsterdam.

There's the impression that something has flown off the platform back into the close, then the fledge in view turns around and also disappears.

Five minutes later I finally re-spot one of the fledges as she jumps off the same branch where one had been ten minutes ago, dives down and across the Pulpit Lawn, goes through (!?) what I assume is the eponymous pulpit, and tries to snag a squirrel or small bird on the south side of the lawn. A miss, and she banks left and back up into a tree. Then another leap and attempt to snatch a squirrel on the north side of the lawn by the flowers. Miss again.

Squirrel runs across grass nearby and jumps onto tree. Fledge gives it a dirty look.

Then she flies up and perches on the pulpit.

Watches calmly as a squirrel walks along the ground below, then casually over at few people (mostly tourists) wandering about.

What, you can't see me here?

About 8:10, the guard starts pushing us all out. The fledgling remains where she is.

She's just visible from a few places out on the street, and at 8:20 she's still perched on the pulpit. Sunset officially at 8:22. The pulpit perch doesn't look like the best spot to roost, but one expects that the fledgling went to bed close by.

Sunday

Only had about 45 minutes in the park/cathedral area, from about 6:15 to 7:00. No hawks seen, and probably not heard either. Small birds didn't seem to have anything to say about them, although they may have been drowned out by the noisy postgame from an adult softball match.

7/20, Late Appearance

Friday

Missed a couple days because of work and the weather. This, however, is an absolutely gorgeous evening to be looking for red-tail fledglings.

Entered Morningside Park just after 6:10, but for more than an hour the only bird of interest to be seen was the great egret who's been hanging around the pon of late (assuming it's always been the same one).

Two long walks around the park, including one up the goat path as far as 118th St. and nada for hawks. The robins and catbirds have been useless and about the only bird noises have been chatting sparrows. Well, it is getting into late July, and one has to consider that it won't be too long before the fledglings make their departures.

7:16 - Parked on a bench along the west side of the ball fields, on the verge of getting up and leaving. Sundely a hawk comes flying over, from north to south, and alights in the top of a tree about 50 feet to my right.

7:17 - She flies straight across the park and into the trees along Manhattan Ave. and a moment later shifts brancches.

7:20 - then back across the park to a tree near the southwest corner entrance.

7:21 - And to a tree along 110th St. A moment later the catbirds in the berry bushes nearby finally wake up and start complaining. The fledge shifts perches a bit, possibly from being harasses by some small birds.

She gives the pests some dirty looks.

7:26 - Then back to the air and into the tall tree by the corner entrance where the fledges have been found several times and where some of us can take pictures from along Morningside Drive.

Getting a better look at her now. The belly band suggests that this is Brownie.

Also, her crop looks empty. Those intent stares she's been making might be part of looking for a bedtime snack.

7:32 - Shift branch. Stare across street at construction site.

7:34 - Then back to the air. She flies across Morningside Drive and over the construction site, then banks right and flies amongst the buildings of the cathedral Close.

7:44 - Nothing back in the close. Well, three peacocks, yes, but no sign of the hawk fledgling. No complaints from robins like I heard on Tuesday, either. Maybe she did a U-turn and exited the Close over the playground north of the school.