Gearing up for nesting season with Christo & Amelia

It's that time of year when we begin looking for signs of nesting raptors across the city. 

For Tompkins Square red-tailed hawks, Christo and Amelia, it's about time for them to start gathering sticks for a new nest. Their previous nest was destroyed by Hurricane Isaias last July, so it will be interesting to see where the pair decide to build this year. Will they return to the same locust tree, go back to the ginkgo that has served well in previous years, or will they choose a completely new location? 

Stay tuned!

In the mean time, I met up with the hawks in the park yesterday as Christo was eating a pigeon and Amelia perched in a nearby tree.

Christo:

Amelia:

It was a very windy afternoon and Amelia had to crouch down to stay balanced on the branch.

At some point, something caught her attention and she took off and circled over me a few times.

After a few minutes, Christo joined her and they both disappeared to the east. I tried following, but wasn't able to locate them again.

It feels like an eternity, but a year ago, we observed Christo and Amelia nest-building by the end of January. They ended up having their most successful season together - fledging three chicks - and I hope they achieve the same success this year. Throughout the nightmare that was 2020, these hawks kept me together mentally and emotionally, and I am so grateful they allow us in their lives.

Mulchfest 2021 with bonus hawks

After surviving 2020, there's nothing more cathartic than watching Christmas trees get fed through a woodchipper.

Welcome to Mulchfest 2021 in Tompkins Square Park! This was my 12th year attending this event and I look forward all year to the fresh aroma of mulched evergreen that fills the park as the chipper transforms piles of discarded trees into heavenly scented potpourri.

Here is some video of the chipper in action:

After park workers converted all the trees to mulch, they dumped it into a pile on the sacred spot where the beloved Bendy Tree once stood.

So fresh!

Kids wasted no time conquering Mulch Mountain - gotta enjoy it before the dogs pee on it!

See previous Mulchfest posts here.

Check out photos of Mulchfest from years past here.

See more Mulchfest videos here.

 

Mulchfest in Tompkins Square wouldn't be complete without a hawk sighting, and our local hawks didn't let us down. When the chipper was turned off, I heard a commotion and looked up to see an immature red-tailed hawk flying over the park.

The young hawk was joined by our resident pair, Christo and Amelia, and the three chased each other around before disappearing over St Brigid's church on Avenue B. In the photo below, Amelia is on the left, Christo is in the center, and the immature intruder is on the right.

At one pass through the park, the immature hawk had a pigeon in its talons. When Christo reappeared in the park after all three hawks went behind the church, he had a pigeon, which he quickly ate in front of the restrooms. Who caught the pigeon? I don't know, but someone definitely had their lunch stolen.

Meanwhile, not far away, an adult Cooper's hawk perched in a tree, staying out of all the drama. The hawk stood up when Amelia flew by, but relaxed when it saw she wasn't going to force it to leave.

Over the years, I've noticed the red-tails show a fairly high tolerance for Cooper's hawks in their territory. Even these competing species can make room for each other.

Heading into the holidays with red-tails Christo and Amelia

Hawk activity is ramping up as we head into the winter holidays. This is usually the time of year when we can expect to see more of our local red-tailed hawk pair, Christo and Amelia, around Tompkins Square Park.

I caught up with them on December 17 as they enjoyed the view from one of their favorite perches, the roof of the Christadora building on Avenue B. Amelia is on the left and Christo is on the right.

For better context, I took some video which shows how far above the park they are.

At some point, they both flew across the park to Avenue A to another of their favorite hangouts, the cross of St Nicholas of Myra church.

 

Christo looks on as Amelia makes her landing.

Eventually, Christo took off and flew over me.

Amelia soon followed and that was the last I saw of them that day.

On December 21, I found Christo just as he caught a small rat. He took it to a quiet perch to eat without being disturbed.

He's looking as good as ever.

Done with dinner, he headed out.

Back up on the Avenue A cross, Christo and Amelia met up for their regular end-of-day confab.

They were soon joined by a flock of Canada geese.

After Christo went off to roost, Amelia stayed and seemed preoccupied by something. I thought she was hunting pigeons, but the pigeons were already agitated and she seemed to be looking beyond them.

I missed it with the camera, but an immature red-tail swooped in and grabbed a pigeon right in front of Amelia! That is what she'd been watching and I couldn't believe she let it happen. The young hawk perched with its prize on a roof that was on the same block as the church.

If you look closely, you can see the gray tail feathers of the pigeon sticking out between the hawk's wing and tail.

Amelia stayed on the cross screaming at the intruder, but it totally ignored her and sat there for about ten minutes before taking its meal to another building. I was surprised a fierce hawk like Amelia would allow an intruder to take food right in front of her, then hang around in her territory. Could this be one of her offspring? Unfortunately, I have no way of knowing, but it was interesting to note how Amelia never made a move on the young hawk.

There have been reports of increased hawk activity in neighboring Washington and Union Square Parks, so they're definitely around, gearing up for nesting season which should start in January or February. We have this to look forward to in the new year.

A successful nesting season for a red-tailed hawk family in Queens

Back in May, the city was hot, humid, and suffering through the first wave of the COVID-19 pandemic. Being outdoors was essential for maintaining my physical and mental health, but some parts of the city, like my local Tompkins Square Park, were too crowded for my comfort. Although I was excited to see the Tompkins Square red-tailed hawk chicks thriving, I felt I couldn't spend as much time with my hawk family as in years past, especially on weekends when the park was especially busy.

A hawk-watcher contacted me and suggested I visit a red-tailed hawk family in Queens that had just hatched eggs. I was assured the location was in a large open area with plenty of space for safe and easy social distancing, so I decided to give it a try.

I ventured out there on May 2 and was delighted to find two nestlings.

One of them stood up and stretched, revealing the first pin feathers growing in on the tips of its wings.

Mama hawk made a fly-by.

She soon brought some food to the nest. Two little fuzzy white heads can barely be seen behind the sticks.

Later, Dad paid a visit and then took off. If you look closely, you can see there are actually three tiny white heads in the nest.

Dad:

Mom feeding lunch to the chicks:

I visited again a week later on May 9 to find all three chicks were clearly visible and one of them had some very advanced feather development.

I went back again on May 16 to find Mom still feeding the chicks, who now had dark feathers on their backs and wings, as well as a couple of inches of tail feathers.

All three looked great.

Returning on May 22, the oldest chick was really starting to look like an adult and practiced flapping its wings. It wouldn't be long until fledge time.

By the time I returned on June 13, the chicks had already fledged, but were still in the immediate area. This one stared me down from its perch on a high ledge.

It was a very hot day, so this fledgling took a nap in the shade.

I looked around and found one of the other fledglings lounging on the top of a light fixture. I wouldn't have seen it up there if it didn't raise its head.

People who live and work in the area told me a pair of hawks has been nesting here for years and they are local celebrities. It's always great to discover wildlife succeeding in the city, and I'm really glad to have been able to see this red-tailed hawk pair successfully raise a trio of fledglings this season.

You can see more photos of this hawk family on my Flickr page.

Hawk time

While passing through Tompkins Square Park earlier this last week, I found our resident red-tailed hawk pair, Amelia and Christo, perched on top of the Christodora building.

Amelia is always on the north end while Christo takes the south. Even when only one hawk is perched up there, they take their preferred ends of the roof, so if you see one or both hawks on top of the building, you can identify them based on where they are sitting.

Late Thursday, I found an immature red-tail chowing down on a pigeon in a tree in the park. I was kind of surprised to see it as Christo and Amelia wouldn't like another red-tail in their territory, but they were not to be seen, so this hawk got away with sneaking a meal. As I watched, a young Cooper's hawk flew into the same tree and checked out the red-tail (I couldn't get a decent photo) before flying off towards 7th Street.

A few weeks ago, I ventured out to Governors Island on an extremely windy day. Sustained winds were 20+ MPH and the gusts were so strong, I could barely hold my camera steady. I was just about to give up and leave when one of the resident red-tails suddenly appeared right in front of me.

Both resident adult hawks appeared right over my head and I watched as they used the strong winds to enable them to hover in place, not having to flap their wings or use much effort at all. I love when they do this.

I watched as the hawks methodically floated over grassy areas of the island, presumably looking for prey. From my vantage point, I could capture them with the lower Manhattan skyline in the background. This is the male of the pair.

Both hawks came together over the water and caught the wind gusts which lifted them back up over the island. In the photo below, New Jersey is in the background.

This is the male coming past me at eye-level. Note his light bright eyes and dark brown belly band. The sun is very bright, so his color looks a bit washed out, but in person, his head and belly band are quite dark.

Taking a closer look.

I like how his talons fold neatly under his tail.

We check each other out.

This is the female. Her head is a much lighter brown and her belly band is just a few faint markings.

She kept turning her head to the side and looking down, scanning the landscape for anything interesting.

She flew very low along the vegetation, taking closer looks. I saw her dive into the bushes once, but she didn't come up with anything.

Checking me out.

Windy days are usually good for seeing raptors like these. They take advantage of the wind and can soar without having to expend much energy. It's fun to watch them hover in place, then suddenly catch a gust of wind and be a mile away in seconds. It's days like these I wish I could experience that.