Friday, May 27, 2022

Hawk chick photos to take you through the long weekend

The three Tompkins Square red-tailed hawk chicks are looking great as they head into the final stages of being nestlings. As they preen away their soft white down, it's possible to guess who is who in age. 

In the photo below, the center chick is most definitely the youngest, still having a full head of white fluff.


The chick on the right looks most likely to be the oldest, while the one on the left looks to be the middle child. As the first hatch was on April 17, this makes the oldest chick six weeks old this weekend.



In this photo, they have switched positions with the youngest now being on the right. It will be interesting to see if we can tell them apart once they come out of the nest.


The one that is presumably the middle chick is rocking the Mohawk look.


The hawklets are getting the serious hawk stare down very well.





The more they exercise, the stronger they'll be when the time comes to take their first flight.



Check out the huge crop on this chick - mom and dad have been feeding them well.




Both parents have been caring for the chicks. Mom Amelia spends time at the nest keeping an eye on them while Dad Christo hunts for food. When he delivers the meals to the nest, Amelia feeds the chicks, but we've seen Christo feeding them as well. In the photo below, Christo is on nest duty while Amelia is off stretching her wings.


After the chicks leave the nest, they will continue to receive parental care until they are able to feed themselves. Until then, Christo will be their primary Grub Hub Delivery Guy.

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