Thursday, April 26, 2018

Springtime visitors

Spring bird migration is underway and there are a lot of colorful little visitors passing through the city. Below are some recent highlights from Tompkins Square Park, La Plaza Cultural community garden, Central Park and Green-Wood Cemetery.

Blue-headed Vireo:

Blue-headed vireo

Palm Warbler:

Palm warbler

American Goldfinch:

Goldfinch

Ruby-crowned Kinglet:

Ruby-crowned kinglet

House Finch (male):

House finch

House Finch (female):

House Finch

Blue Grosbeak:

Blue grosbeak

Blue grosbeak

Chipping Sparrow:

Chipping Sparrow

Eastern Kingbird:

Eastern Kingbird

Black-and-white Warbler:

Black and white warbler

Yellow-rumped (Myrtle) Warbler:

Myrtle Warbler

Dark-eyed Junco:

Junco

Hermit Thrush:

Hermit thrush

Eastern Towhee (female):

Towhee

Common Grackle:

Grackle

As the trees bloom and insects increase, we should see more interesting birds in the weeks to come.




Tuesday, April 24, 2018

Brooding time in Tompkins Square

At last, Christo and Amelia have at least one egg!

On Friday, April 20, the hawks were observed sitting low in the nest and making nest-exchanges throughout the day, indicating they are sitting on eggs.  No one can see into the nest, so it's impossible to know how many eggs are in there.  We have to pay attention to the hawks' behavior.

Hooray, Amelia!

Amelia

This is all that can be seen from the ground (hawk tail sticking up on the right):

Christo brooding

It takes around 28-35 days for eggs to hatch, so if we count April 20 as Day 1, that puts hatching at May 17-24.  Since no one can see into the nest, we will not be able to see the eggs hatch, but we will know something is up when Christo starts delivering food to the nest. 

The hawks will continue mating until all the eggs are laid, and then maybe for some time after that.

Christo and Amelia mating

Christo and Amelia mating

Christo and Amelia mating

Amelia and Christo

The next month will be kind of dull for hawk-watching as one hawk will be down in the nest most of the time.  The best time to see them is when they do a nest-exchange or when Christo goes hunting.

This is Amelia on Saturday when she was taking a break atop St Brigid's church. 

Amelia

I've noticed she likes to perch on the church towers as well as the cross.  She is the first hawk I've seen do this, so if you see a hawk on one of the towers, it's most likely her.  Christo prefers perching on the cross.

Amelia

Amelia

After a traumatic spring for the hawks, I'm happy they've finally settled in.






Thursday, April 19, 2018

Christo and Amelia highlights from this week

There's no real update on the Tompkins Square hawks this week other than to say Christo and Amelia are still working on the nest, mating and hanging out together.  As of today, there are still no signs of eggs.

This is Amelia, chilling in the last light of the day on Wednesday.

Amelia

Christo, performing a fly-by.

Christo performs a fly-by

Christo shows off his powerful legs...

He's got legs, and he knows how to use them

...which he uses to catch prey like this pigeon.

Christo with prey

And this rat.

Christo with a rat

Wednesday evening, Christo caught four rats in a row, which he took back to Amelia who waited on a branch near the Krishna Tree.  Below, Christo is on the left, Amelia is on the right, and a rat is in the middle.

Are you going to eat that?

Are you going to eat that?

Amelia takes the rat.

Amelia takes a rat gift from Christo

She ate it, but discarded the stomach.  The hawks don't eat this part and they will kick it over the side of the perch - one reason never to stand beneath them while they eat.

Rat stomach

The NYPD later parked their cruiser right on top of the stomach.

Christo (below, right) finishes off the last rat drumstick.

Christo offers Amelia a leg-o-rat

Dinner over, sexy time!

Christo and Amelia mating

Christo and Amelia mating

Amelia gazes up at Christo atop the cross at St Nicholas of Myra on Avenue A and 10th Street.

Isn't he just dreamy?

Amelia and Christo


You can see more recent photos of the hawks on my Flickr page.




Tuesday, April 17, 2018

Immature red-tail visits East River Park

As the Tompkins Square hawks have been stealing the spotlight lately, I haven't had a chance to post about other hawks in the area.  As it's migration time, many hawks have been passing through the city and I caught up with this young (immature) red-tail who appeared to be enjoying itself out at the running track at East River Park.

Immature red-tail

The track is currently being renovated, so it's fenced-off and full of construction materials.

Immature red-tail

Immature red-tail

Immature red-tail

Immature red-tail

Immature red-tail

Immature red-tail

Immature red-tail

The hawk seemed to be very interested in the squirrels that were running around the area, although I didn't see it catch any prey.  When I see a hawk in a location like this, I do worry about rodenticide, which is a real threat to hawks in the city.

Immature red-tail

A lot of immature red-tails have been spotted in the neighborhood recently.  A quick way to tell if a hawk is a young bird is by the eye color (immatures have yellow eyes, as seen above, and adults have brown) and by their tails (immatures have brown tails and adults have red).






Sunday, April 15, 2018

March for Science 2018

Below are some photos from the March from Science 2018 rally held in Washington Square Park on Saturday, April 14.

March for Science 2018

March for Science 2018

March for Science 2018

March for Science 2018

March for Science 2018

March for Science 2018

March for Science 2018

March for Science 2018

March for Science 2018

March for Science 2018

March for Science 2018

See more photos from the rally here.

Previously.