Tompkins Square Hawk Archives

In the fall of 2013, a pair of adult red-tailed hawks (to become known as Christo and Dora) appeared in Tompkins Square Park. They built a nest in the spring of 2014 on an air-conditioner unit on the Christodora House on Avenue B and East 9th Street and raised three chicks to fledge.

Photo: Laura Goggin

The following year (2015), the hawks built a nest on another air-conditioner on the Ageloff Towers on Avenue A and East 3rd Street, where they again raised three chicks to fledge.

Photo: Laura Goggin

In 2016, the hawks built their nest in a tree within Tompkins Square Park, and they have been nesting in the park ever since.

In April 2018, Dora was taken into rehab after being injured, and continues to live at a nature center on Long Island. Amelia took over as Christo's mate that same season and continues as the resident female hawk for this location.

Photo: Mark Cyr

Delve into the history of the Tompkins Square Park red-tailed hawks here. Posts are listed in chronological order, with the most recent appearing first.

TSP Hawk Archives by year:

• 2024
• 2023
• 2022
• 2021
• 2020
• 2019
• 2018
• 2017
• 2016
• 2015
• 2014
• 2013
• 2012
• 2011

Nest Notes:

Year	1st egg laid	1st hatch	1st fledge	2nd fledge	3rd fledge	Notes
2024	3/8	4/15	6/2	6/2	6/6	3 successful fledges. One fledgling taken to WBF on 8/14 after being found on the ground, unable to fly.
2023	3/9	4/16	6/5	6/8	6/10	3 fledges. 3rd fledgling taken to rehab 7/27 with unidentified wing injury. Returned to TSP on 8/29. Returned to rehab on 9/19 with unidentified injury. Re-released on 11/29/23.
2022	3/10	4/17	6/6	6/7	6/8	3 fledges, one fledgling died in the park of what appears to be frounce on July 4, another died at WBF of what appears to be rodenticide poisoning July 27.
2021	3/13	4/21	~6/10	~6/10	N/A	3 hatchlings, 1 died in nest, 1 died after fledging.
2020	3/4	~4/12	6/1	6/2	6/2	3 successful fledges.
2019	3/13	4/20	N/A	N/A	N/A	1 hatchling died on nest 5/30 and 2nd died on 6/9 at WINORR.
2018	4/20	5/25	7/13	7/17	N/A	2 successful fledges. Amelia's first brood.
2017	3/14	4/18	6/12	N/A	N/A	1 successful fledge, foster fledgling raised by Christo.
2016	~3/14	4/23	6/9	6/11	~6/13	3 successful fledges.
2015	~3/23	5/1	6/20	6/20	6/23	1st chick fledged at 50 days old, 2nd chick fledged at 50-51 days old, 3rd chick hatched on 5/3 (51 days).
2014	~3/29	5/8	6/23	6/24	7/2	1st chick spent 46 days on nest. 2nd egg laid 4/2 and hatched 5/8 (47 days on nest), 3rd egg laid 4/3 and hatched 5/10 (53 days on nest).

• 2014: 3 chicks successfully fledged from an air-conditioner at the Christodora on Avenue B.
• 2015: 3 chicks successfully fledged from an air-conditioner at the Ageloff on Avenue A.
• 2016: 3 chicks successfully fledged from the Ginkgo tree on the east side of Tompkins Square.
• 2017: 1 chick fledged from the Locust tree near Temperance Fountain in Tompkins Square. Only one chick was ever observed in the nest and it was never known if there had been more. Christo and Dora fostered a fledgling from Brooklyn (AKA: Flatbush) who was later found to have died of West Nile virus.
• 2018: 2 chicks were observed in the nest of the Ginkgo, and it was not known if there had ever been a third. The first fledgling died of rodenticide poisoning soon after leaving the nest. The second fledgling displayed interesting/odd behavior all summer that was entertaining, but not exactly normal. This hawk unexpectedly disappeared one day and, although we'd like to think it took off on its own, we have suspicions about its condition. Rehabbers tried several times to rescue it, but it eluded capture each time.
• 2019: 2 chicks were observed in the nest of the Ginkgo, and it was not known if there had ever been a third. One chick died in the nest and the body was not recovered. The second chick became so weak, it fell out of the nest and was retrieved by Urban Park Rangers and taken to a rehabber who was unable to save it. Cause of death was determined to be rodenticide poisoning.
• 2020: 3 chicks successfully fledged from the Locust tree in Tompkins Square, which is the location of the present 2021 nest.
• 2021: 3 chicks were observed in the nest, but one died after a few days and it is not known what happened. The remaining two fledged successfully, but one was reported sick on 7th street and rescued by Ranger Rob of the Urban Park Rangers. It later died at Wild Bird Fund and the cause was likley rodenticide poisoning.
• 2022: 3 chicks were raised to fledge, presumably 2 females and 1 male based on size. One of the larger fledglings died suddenly of frounce in the park on July 4. The second larger fledgling fell ill and was rescued from a fire escape on July 27. It died later that night. The third (and smallest) fledgling seemed to be doing ok and I last observed it in the park on August 17.
• 2023: Three chicks fledged successfully. On July 27, one of the fledglings was taken to rehab after displaying some unusual behavior. Further details on the rescue can be found here. The fledgling was determined to be female and was returned to the park on August 29th. More details on the fledgling's return to Tompkins Square can be found here. She returned to rehab on September 19, and was re-released later in the season in another location as it would have caused conflict with Christo and Amelia to bring the young hawk back to the territory so long after the breeding season had ended.
• 2024: Three chicks fledged successfully. On August 14, one of the fledglings was found on the ground in the skateboard area of the park, unable to fly. It was picked up by the Urban Park Rangers and taken to Wild Bird Fund for evaluation.