There's been a rare and exciting visitor to the city these last few weeks: an immature Swainson's Hawk. This is a bird found in the western United States, and they normally migrate to Central and South America for the winter. For some reason, this one decided to go to Staten Island, and a few weeks later, Brooklyn.
Join us as we chronicle the lives of East Village red-tailed hawks, Christo, Amelia, and Dora, as well as other New York City wildlife.
Wednesday, March 22, 2023
Rare Swainson's hawk turns up in Brooklyn
Monday, March 20, 2023
Brood time in Tompkins Square
Here we go! Several days ago, I watched as red-tailed hawk, Amelia, laid her first egg of the season. By now, her clutch (usually 1-3 eggs) should be complete. We cannot see into the nest, so do not know how many eggs there are. However, we can watch the behavior of Christo and Amelia and know that they are now in their brooding stage and will be taking turns sitting on the nest for the next few weeks.
Looking back, these are likely the last mating photos I'll have for this season:
Thursday, March 9, 2023
Intruder hawk snatches pigeon in front of Christo and Amelia
Tompkins Square red-tailed hawks, Christo and Amelia, have recently had their hands/talons full fending off other red-tails invading their territory. Many of these hawks are young and migrating to find territories of their own. Earlier this week, I witnessed the pair fighting with a third hawk on the dome of Most Holy Redeemer church on E 3rd Street, and the following day, something interesting happened in the park.
When I arrived at the park, I saw Christo flying around.
In this video, Christo is perched above the young hawk, who continues plucking the pigeon, making a lot of vocalizations.
Thursday, March 2, 2023
Christo and Amelia gear up for their sixth nesting season
Springtime is fast approaching and East Village red-tails, Christo and Amelia, have been working hard preparing for egg-laying time. Looking back at the last several nesting seasons, Amelia generally lays her first egg in the second week of March, except for 2020, when she laid the first egg on March 4. That year turned out to be a successful one for the hawks, with three successful fledges.
Fingers crossed this year goes well for them, although I am worried about the imminent construction project that is set to take place in Tompkins Square Park this month, which will entail tearing down the building that houses the restrooms and park offices. I have no idea how the disruption will affect the hawks, but it's probably good that they relocated their nest this year, and it is further away from the construction zone than their previous nest.