Fuzzy bobbleheads

I took some screenshots today of Christo and Dora's babies from the Ageloff nest cam.  They're not great, but it's possible to see all three fuzzy bobbleheads.

From Nest Cam 2, you can see the hawklets up close.  Here, Dora feeds two chicks while the third naps off to the right.

One of them is quite a bit smaller than the other two, so I'm assuming it's the youngest.  One of the others - I'm not sure if it's the first-born or not - is definitely dominant.  It lords over everyone else, as you can see here.

Not to worry, as Dora makes sure all three babies get fed.  Last year, there was concern at the Christodora nest that the youngest was not getting enough food, but we saw first-hand how dad Christo made sure it did.

And from Nest Cam 1, you can just barely see the tops of the white fuzzy heads as they grab food out of mom's beak.

Less than a week old and they all seem to be doing well.

There was a worrying episode Monday afternoon when, apparently, some workmen were on the roof of the Ageloff, looking over the edge and taking pictures of the nest. This scared Dora off the nest leaving it exposed for some time.

Getting so close to the birds is dangerous for everyone involved.  The oldest baby was only four days old and none of them yet have feathers to keep them warm, so they need their parents to provide heat.  The babies were also exposed to any flying predator who could swoop in and snatch them. 

The humans risked getting seriously hurt if either adult hawk decided to attack.  I'm actually surprised Dora didn't get aggressive.  She seems so formidable, I was surprised she scared so easily.  But, she might learn to be more defensive now.

We need to remember these are wild animals and, despite living so close to us, they are not tame.

After 40 minutes without parental protection, Christo returned to the nest and seemed to check everything out.  A few minutes later, Dora returned, clearly looking agitated.  By bedtime, everything was calm again.

Meanwhile, the hawk eggs have begun hatching at the Cornell School of Ornithology and you can watch them live here.  Each day, there are three chat sessions where moderators answer questions.  I highly recommend it as an educational source - I learned a lot about hawks after following hawk parents Ezra and Big Red last season.

The exciting event today was watching their second egg hatch live during the chat!  This is a screenshot of the oldest sibling, waiting for the other two to come out and play...

May Day babies

It's confirmed, Christo and Dora's first hawk egg hatched on Friday, May 1, and now all three hawklets are out of the shell at the Ageloff Towers on Avenue A.

The news was first confirmed when commenters on the Ave A Nest Cam observed both parents suddenly becoming very active some time Friday morning.  By afternoon, a feeding took place.

A second camera has now been set up where you can see all three fuzz balls waddling around and being fed.

This hawk family is about a week earlier than last year, so I'm guessing fledge time will be in mid-June.  Stay tuned...

Waiting game

Today marks the 37th day since Dora laid the first of three eggs this season, so they're due to hatch any time now.  Tune in to the nest cam to see any changes in activity.

This close-up photo of the three eggs was kindly sent in to us a couple of weeks ago:

All lined up and ready to go!

While we continue to wait for the eggs to hatch, Christo and Dora have established a bit of a pattern with exchanging nest duties.  Late in the day, around 6pm, Christo sits on the cross at the Most Holy Redeemer church on E 3rd Street, where he has a clear view of the nest, and waits for Dora to get up.



Right on cue, Dora stands up.  Break time!



She takes off north up Avenue A.



Christo flies in from the cross and takes over sitting on the eggs.



I found Dora stretching out on top of the cross at St Brigid's on Avenue B & 8th Street.







When she was done stretching, she flew into her favorite gingko tree just inside the park entrance and rested for about 30 minutes.  As the sun set, she took off and flew up and down Avenue A chasing pigeons.  She didn't seem to be hunting them, just diving after them and making them scatter.  It looked to me like she was really enjoying herself. 

When she returned to the nest, Christo headed straight for the park where he wasted no time catching a rat.  The whole process - landing in a tree, looking around, pouncing, and carrying it up to a branch - took less then ten minutes.



He ate the yummiest part - the head - then quickly took the rest back up to the cross at Most Holy Redeemer.





Christo left the rat snack on the cross, then switched places with Dora.  She ate the rest of the food, then sat up on the cross until the sun went down at 7:55pm.  By then, it was too dark for my camera, so I didn't see where Christo went to roost, but he headed back towards Tompkins Square.



See more photos on my Flickr page.

Previously.

Ho-hum hawk week

It's been a rather boring week for hawk-watching, so I don't really have any exciting updates on Christo and Dora.

We are getting close to hatch time, which I'm guessing will be around May 1 (place your bets!).  We won't be able to see the hatchlings from the street, but we should know that something has happened when Christo suddenly becomes a food delivery maniac.  Until then, he is giving Dora breaks throughout the day.

After unsuccessfully looking for him in Tompkins Square Tuesday evening, I just happened to see him leaving the nest as I was on my way home.  You can just see Dora on top of the air-conditioner.



Christo flew north on Avenue A to the park.  That was around 7pm, so I didn't follow as it was getting too dark.



Earlier in the week, on Sunday, I caught him partaking in Endless Pigeon Brunch on Avenue A & St Mark's.



A sparrow looks on...



After a few minutes, Christo took off and flew the left-overs up to the cross of the Most Holy Redeemer church on E 3rd Street.



He was only on the cross for about a minute before taking off again, empty-taloned.  My assumption is he left the food up there for Dora.

And, by chance, I spotted Dora atop the Christodora late one evening just as the sun set.



She rested up there for quite some time before making a beeline back to the nest on Avenue A.

 

See more photos on my Flickr page.

Previously.

Killing time with Christo

While Dora continues to brood on the nest, mostly out of sight from the street, I caught up with Christo this last weekend in Tompkins Square.

I'd just been complaining out loud that I hadn't seen him up close in a while, so of course that's when he flew across the Avenue A playground with a pigeon.



After letting all the kids get a good look at his catch, he took it over to the chess tables where a small crowd gathered to watch.



But after several minutes of feather-plucking, he decided to take off.  He flew to the north end of the park near 10th Street, but I lost him and never saw if he ate the pigeon himself or shared it with Dora.



Monday night, I found him hunting rats behind the park offices.



Birds and squirrels swarmed all over the area, but he seemed bent on getting the rats that ran around in the bushes under the birdbaths.  I wanted to stay and watch him, but I got kicked out when the park employees locked the gate.

Lucky for me, Christo flew back out to the front of the offices and perched on the flagpole.



I don't know why he gave up on hunting in the back area, as he had a lot of dining options back there.  He spent the next hour or so diving from the flagpole into the grassy area just to the west, failing to catch anything, then back up to the flagpole. 



Watching him try to catch dinner over and over made me hungry, so I had to leave.  I hope he found what he was looking for...



See more photos on my Flickr page.

Previously.

Spring at last

With the coming of spring, I am calm again.
--Gustav Mahler

Avenue A hawk update

The big news is that word has come in from the Ageloff Towers that Christo and Dora now have three eggs.

The first egg was laid around March 23 or 24, and the other two were laid some time between March 27 and April 5.  My rough estimate is that we can look forward to hatchlings around the end of April or the first week of May. 

Looking back at the nest last year on the Christodora, we can compare the size of the two air-conditioners.  I think it will be pretty crowded up there this time around, but I have to trust that the hawks know what they're doing.

Other than that, it's a rather dull time for hawk-watching.  There is almost always one bird  on the nest, but they are not visible from the street when they're sitting down.  You can catch them switching places when Christo comes to relieve Dora of nest duties and she takes off for a lunch break.


Christo is on the nest, but can't be seen as Dora comes in for a landing.

I've been seeing Dora perch on Village View on First Ave & 3rd St, and also on the cross of the Most Holy Redeemer on 3rd St & Ave A.


You can barely see Dora peeking over the eastern arm of the cross.


Dora resting on the dome.

Last season, Christo was almost always in Tompkins Square Park and I could easily find him.  This year, he seems to have changed his habits and is spending more time in the neighborhood SE of the nest.  I've seen him fly off that direction and return from there, but I have yet to find out where he goes.  Once the eggs hatch, I'm hoping he'll do more hunting in the park where we'll be able to observe him more closely.


Christo atop the flag pole in Tompkins Square.


See more photos on my Flickr page.

Previously.

Eclipse

All that is now
All that is gone
All that's to come...

--Pink Floyd

Mr Rat's wild ride

It began on a lovely Sunday afternoon in Tompkins Square where Christo caught a rat...



...and then flew it around the farmer's market on Avenue A & 7th Street. 



Pausing in a tree near the chess tables, Christo called Dora to come get lunch. 

 

She was over on the nest at Avenue A & 3rd Street at the time, so I doubt she heard him.

Getting no response, he flew off with the rat, still calling...



...and took it up to the cross of the Most Holy Redeemer church, four blocks south of the park.



After calling to Dora to come and get it (and still getting no response from her), he left the rat up on top of the cross and flew back to the park.  I couldn't see the rat from the street, but it struck me as being a sacrifice to the gods being up there like that. How many rats have been on top of that cross?

About 20 minutes later, Christo returned and retrieved the rat.



I thought he was going to fly it over to Dora, who was sitting on the nest, but he circled over Avenue A a few times, then took it over to Village View at First Avenue & 3rd Street.



I thought he'd eat it there, but no!  A few minutes later, Christo took off with the rat again, made a few more circles over Avenue A, then headed east.

 

This all took about 45 minutes.  As far as I know, Christo is still flying around with that rat...

See more photos on my Flickr page.

Previously.

Birds in the 'hood

While watching the hawk nest on Avenue A, I've seen several other wild creatures sharing the sky.

Late one recent afternoon, this Peregrine Falcon zoomed up the avenue to 5th Street, where Christo was perched on one of the Village View buildings, and started chasing him around.



They circled each other several times - so fast I couldn't photograph them together - then the falcon headed NW, up First Avenue.

A couple of days later, I spotted two Turkey Vultures gliding straight up Avenue A, right over the nest at 3rd Street. 



About an hour later, two vultures glided in the opposite direction, south on A.  Were they the same or a different pair?  I'm not sure, but four vultures were spotted over Washington Square Park on this same day.

Yesterday, I was totally surprised to see this Merlin casually perched on a rooftop shower head on 6th Street & Avenue B.  I've never seen one in this area, so this was pretty exciting for me.



After a few minutes, it took off towards Tompkins Square Park.