Monday, May 20, 2019

Checking in on the Tompkins Square hawk family

Checking in on the Tompkins Square red-tailed hawk family this week, and everybody looks to be doing well.

On a recent visit, I found Christo babysitting.

Father and kid

Below, mom Amelia sits in the nest while one of the two youngsters looks out.

Mom and chick

Yawn!

Yawn!

Later, Christo delivered dinner and the whole family crowded into the nest. In the photo below, one nestling is behind leaves on the far left, the other is peeking up at the center of the nest, and Amelia looks on as Christo tears up a rodent into bite-sized pieces.

Dinner is served

The nest is deep, so it's surprising to see how big the chicks are when they stand up.

Tompkins red-tail nestling

They're already losing down on their backs and wings, revealing dark brown flight feathers. And the tail feathers are coming in as can be seen on the chick below on the left. The tail looks to be about 3-4 inches long and has a colorful pattern. I hope this remains as the tail grows as it could help us identify who is who later on.


So far, the chicks look good and everything seems to be progressing normally.





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