3/14, Gorman Park

Despite the drizzle and fog, I headed uptown Saturday afternoon to check on hawk nests. It's almost egg-laying time, and it's time to check and doublecheck that nest sites are going to be used.

p>The Gorman Park nest (actually overlooking Broadway Terrace) can be seen from Overlook Terrace across Fort George valley is you have good optics and if you know where to look.

And there was a hawk perched on the fire escape railing by the nest. Looks like the female is getting in the mood, just like we say with the female at the St. John's nest this past week.

She was staying put. When I got down to Broadway, she was still up there.

And as I passed below, still there.

But after a half hour of perching on the railing, she hopped down into the nest.

She apparently shuffled sticks for a minute or two, but otherwise she sat and scanned the skies. Another 12-15 minutes later as I was distracted by a passer by, she disappeared.

3/11, St. John the Divine

A couple quick peeks at the red-tailed hawk nest at the Cathedral of St. John the Divine at the end of the day Wednesday. At 5:45, the nest was empty, but at 6:25, someone was visible up there.

That's taken from near the Manhattan Ave. and 110th St. entrance to Morningside Park.

Whoever was in the nest must have taken off while I was walking up 110th St., as moments later the nest was empty. And then a hawk flew in from the direction of the cathedral close.

This hawk stayed in the nest for just a minute or two, and then flew off toward Douglass Circle and Central Park.

3/9, St. John the Divine

Madeleine, the new female red-tailed hawk at the Cathedral of St. John the Divine, seems to be quite happy with her new nest. Monday at 6:00 p.m., I found her sitting up there, watching the neighborhood.

Despite the way that photo looks, she's actually sitting up and so is not yet on eggs. (That's still a couple weeks away.)

While I was looking around for good viewing angles on the nest, Norman delivered some dinner, which Madeleine tucked into right away.

Norman only stuck around for half a minute before taking off to the southwest, perhaps heading for Straus Park or perhaps the Douglass Houses.

Madeleine must have pretty hungry, as she spent about as much time eating her meal as I have ever seen a hawk do. She did come up for air every now and again.

And after just more than a half hour, she finished up. Then she did a magic trick, completely disappearing from sight without, as best I could tell, actually leaving the nest.