This week in hawks - June 14

Time moves quickly for the Tompkins Square red-tailed hawk fledglings. They've spent the last week getting their bearings in the treetops and are getting stronger and more confident with their flying.

June 5: One of the fledglings chills in a tree.

One of the other fledgling stretches - note the two prominent brown spots on its chest. This is a useful field mark for identification.

This is the same fledgling as shown in the top photo above. Note the pale stripe down the edge of one of its central tail feathers. This can also be a useful ID.

More exploring the tree branches:

This fledgling's chest spots appear in two curved vertical rows on its left (our right) side. This pattern differs from the hawk in the second photo.

June 8: The chest spots on this fledgling do not match the other two, so I believe this is the third sibling. It's difficult to tell them apart in person, but the older two seem to stick together most often while the youngest is on its own. This is not always the case, though.

June 11: Two of the fledglings return to the nest for rest and sometimes food.

One of them plays around with a stick in the nest.

Meanwhile, their sibling is perched in the tree on the central lawn.

The fledglings command all the attention, so let's not forget their parents, Amelia and Christo, who are staying very close to their offspring, feeding them and keeping them safe.

Amelia:

Christo on his flag pole, looking very serious:

The fledglings will continue to familiarize themselves with their environment and the parents will provide them with food until they can learn to hunt on their own. 

 

Stay tuned.