Chasing the Grant's Tomb Fledglings

The Grant's Tomb nest this year hatched three young red-tailed hawks, which have fledged and are delighting everyone in the neighborhood. I've been filming them as they go from crying on the back of the Grant's Tomb monument to hunting bugs at the Claremont Playground to the north. More photos and video will follow!

One of the three Grant's Tomb fledglings, June 21, 2017.

The Chasing the Hawks videos are being doing in parts. I just posted Part 1 of The Grant's Tomb Fledglings, which covers June 13, 16 and 21.

The first seven photos below were taken June 13. The fifth shows a parent (I think Mom) bringing in a pigeon, which she then took to the ledge of the monument, where the kids ate one after the other. The eighth photo was taken June 16, and shows a balcony with a potted red-tailed fledgling.

These photos were taken June 21. Mom brought a pigeon to a tree. One of the kids started eating it there, while another watched and cried. The fledgling with the food carried it to the ground, where the meal was devoured. Sharing is not considered a hawk attribute.

Purple Monster? No! Purple Martins!

Usually, on this site, PM stands for Purple Monster, our Christmas heroine. But today, PM stands for purple martins (Progne subis), those broad-chested swallows that do aerial acrobatics to catch insects. There is only one sanctuary nesting colony in New York City where you can see purple martins: Lemon Creek Park on Staten Island. The purple martins are very welcome there, with high-rise apartments and gourd single-family dwellings. I visited on June 20, traveling on the Staten Island Ferry and the Staten Island Railroad. 

Purple martin, Lemon Creek Park, Staten Island, June 20

The Filming the Feathers video shows the purple martins at their nests and on a phone line. You'll notice some wooden decoy purple martins in the video and in a photo below. Purple martins love to be in flocks, and the wooden birds welcome visiting swallows to the neighborhood. On the day I visited, I also saw starlings and house sparrows taking up residence in the condominiums.

The first photo below shows one of the wooden decoys. The rest are resident purple martins. All photos were taken June 20.

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.