Chasing Hawk Babies!

I've been chasing the red-tailed hawk babies at three spots in Manhattan so far this year: Central Park (Pale Male and Octavia have three kids this year), Grant's Tomb (there are three babies from that nest), and Tompkins Square Park (Dora and Christo have one baby, and are now fostering a second fledgling who was rescued in Brooklyn). In my first video of the offspring of the three nests, you get a chance to compare the kids. You'll note that the Tompkins Square kid is a bit younger (you'll get to see video of the new kid later).

An offspring of Pale Male and Octavia in a tree next to Central Park on Fifth Avenue, June 9.

A Grant's Tomb baby shows off the wings, June 11.

The Tompkins Square Park kid, offspring of Dora and Christo, branching out, June 11.

This first set of photos is of the Central Park babies.

These photos are of the Grant's Tomb baby, plus Mom, when she brought in food for her kids.

The Tompkins Square Park youngster, offspring of Christo and Dora.

Pale Male's Kids

Pale Male and Octavia have three baby hawks this year, and on June 1, the first kid fledged. On June 2, that kid was hanging out on Pilgrim Hill, south of the model boat pond. A second youngster left the nest on June 2, but was not terribly thrilled about spending the first day on a next-door building on an eighth-floor balcony, and was back on the nest on June 3.

The first of Pale Male's kids to fledge

The second to fledge, on a balcony

So it's time for more Chasing the Hawks in Central Park videos, and I filmed these two youngsters, plus Mom and Dad, on June 2. The second fledgling is a real crybaby, but I wasn't able to obtain clear sound of the wailing because the street noise was so loud, so I removed the audio. The photos and video of these birds were taken with the new Sony camera. I'm not yet sold on it, but will have to get used to it, I suppose.

The photos are not quite what I'd like, but I'm still getting used to the camera. They are a record of one of the first days after fledging. Octavia came to visit the first fledgling on top of a pine tree after bringing in a pigeon, but the shot didn't come out.

Hawk Family Values

I've spent some time this spring with two pairs of hawks that have been sitting on eggs — Pale Male and Octavia in Central Park, whose nest is on Fifth Avenue, and Christo and Dora, the Tompkins Square Park pair who have nested this year above the park bathrooms.

Pale Male, the Ramble, March 19

I put together Chasing the Hawks: Uptown Nest, Downtown Nest to celebrate these two sets of raptor parents from March 10 through April 18. It appears that both nests have now had hatchings. Pale Male has been handing out cigars for the past week.

On March 19, a first-year red-tailed hawk was hanging out near the Boathouse in Central Park, within view of the Fifth Avenue nest. Pale Male didn't seem all that perturbed until the youngster flew closer to him, at which point Pale Male let the kid know who ruled that neighborhood.

First-year red-tailed hawk, the Ramble, March 19

Pale Male, the Ramble, March 19

Pale Male, March 19

Pale Male, March 19

I visited the Tompkins Square hawks the afternoon of April 10. We saw both Dora and Christo on the nest, and the switchout when Dora returned to take over from Christo on the eggs. When we left the park as it was getting dark, Christo was perched on a tree eating a bird he had stored there at some earlier point.

Dora taking over at the Tompkins Square Park nest, April 10

Christo near the nest, Tompkins Square Park, April 10

Pale Male was high on a treetop on Cedar Hill on April 14. He was standing regally on a pigeon for a while, ate part of it, then took the remainder to the nest. Octavia flew out with the remaining dinner to Cedar Hill, where she ate it on top of another tree.

Pale Male on Cedar Hill, April 14

Pale on Cedar Hill, eating pigeon, April 14

Pale Male on Cedar Hill, April 14

Octavia on Cedar Hill, April 14

Two little white heads have been seen the Fifth Avenue nest, and it will be so exciting to watch the newest of Pale Male and Octavia's kids grow and fledge and learn to hunt this summer.