Tompkins Square hawk chicks are branching

Just as I was getting ready to walk out of Tompkins Square this afternoon, I turned around and caught some hawk action up at the nest.

One of the chicks was staring me down, beckoning me back.

After hatching in early April, the chicks are now about six weeks old and are looking more like adults each day.

All three have been doing a lot of jump-flapping and are looking great.

It's a little hard to see in this photo, but all three chicks have peachy yellow coloring on their chests and their heads are quickly turning from white to brown.

The nestling on the left looked very serious as it practiced flapping its wings.

Note how the chick is looking intently at the branch sticking out directly in front of it.

With a determined hop, the chick jumped up to the branch above the nest.

Ta-da!

The chick looked around, taking in the new perspective.

After it was confident on its new perch, the young hawk jumped down and back up to the branch a few more times.

Branching is the first step before fledging the nest, which should be soon.