Christo and Amelia build an alternative nest in Tompkins Square

Resident red-tailed hawks, Christo and Amelia, have spent time over the last few weeks building a "frustration" nest in Tompkins Square Park. This is essentially an alternate nest, with no intention of actual use. I've seen them do this each year, although the location is not always the same. This post from 2019 shows an example. The alternate nest this year is in a dense tree with no visibility from the ground.

There was a point in late July when Christo and Amelia pulled back on their efforts to catch food for the fledglings, forcing the young hawks to practice hunting for themselves. This resulted in the fledglings following their parents around the park, screaming for food. Christo and Amelia mostly ignored them and carried on with their new activity, which was building the alternative nest.

This is Amelia early one morning looking for suitable sticks.

When she found the one she wanted, she worked hard to break it from the tree.

After successfully breaking the perfect stick, Amelia flew it to the tree where the nest was being constructed.

While she was doing this, one of the fledglings chased her around crying, but after receiving no response, decided to join in with the stick gathering. I've never seen this happen before, so I was really excited to see this behavior.

This is the fledgling with a stick it has just broken from the tree - and despite having the stick in its mouth, the young hawk continued to cry.

(terrible lighting conditions led to some weird coloring in these photos)

The fledgling followed Amelia to the new nest and appeared to help with the construction. Maybe it thought it would get her attention or a reward for helping?

This is Christo bringing a more substantial branch to the nest. The three of them worked on the construction project for about an hour before going on with their day.

In my opinion, building an alternative nest is a bonding activity for Christo and Amelia that helps them transition away from feeding their young without losing their purpose. By now, the kids are capable of feeding themselves, but he parents are there for support and will provide food if necessary. Working on the construction project together helps strengthen their cooperative relationship and keeps their skills sharp. 

There's always something interesting to observe with this hawk family. Stay tuned...