Tompkins Square red-tailed hawk chick pics

It's been just over three weeks since the first red-tailed hawk chick hatched in Tompkins Square Park, and they're finally getting big enough to be seen from the ground. They're growing fast and already have pin feathers on their wings and tails, but still have the fuzzy white bobblehead look.

Check out the pin feathers on the tail. They look like little paint brushes.

Getting a clear view of the chicks has been a challenge because of all the sticks poking up from the nest.

This nestling has a crop as big as its head. They've been eating well.

Mom Amelia gets ready to feed the three chicks. Christo has also been feeding the kids when Amelia is on break.

This one took a few minutes to gulp down a huge chunk of pigeon.

Well, hello there...

This photo is from a week ago, and you can see how much the feathers on the wings have grown since then (see top photo for comparison).

A note about photography:  Most of these photos were taken from 200 feet away, with the nest being approximately 60 feet up in a tree. Normally, I would say the photographer should be further away, but in this setting, which is in the middle of an urban park, that's not really possible, and the birds are tolerant enough not to be disturbed at this distance. However, there are other nests around the city where the hawks are much more sensitive to human presence (even just eye contact) and will not tolerate people in the vicinity. Take care to be aware of the environment and the particular situation. I know of at least two hawk nests that were abandoned this year due to human disruption and harassment.

Christo and Amelia are exceptionally tolerant of human activity, and it's easy to forget they are wild birds. They're not tame, and will not land on your arm or be fed. As long as we do not interfere with what they are doing, they will continue to live among us, allowing us to observe these intimate moments and marvel at their activities.

People often ask me about using a drone to get closer looks at the nest. Do not do this. Drones are illegal in Manhattan, and can only be flown in a select few locations in the city. You can find more information about New York drone laws here. Regardless of the legality, flying a drone anywhere near a nest causes great stress on the birds and can lead to injury if the bird decides to defend itself, or leave its chicks. In 2016, I was horrified to see a famous YouTuber fly his drone right up to Dora when she was on her nest with chicks. The Urban Park Rangers were summoned, but the YouTuber took off just before they arrived. In the footage he later posted to his channel, he removed Dora's audible screams and inserted thought bubbles intended to be humorous. Personally, I found it sickening. It was done for the sole purpose of generating views and comments, never taking into account the consequences of his actions.

Last year, I witnessed a drone harassing Christo as well as a local family of kestrels. The New York drone law says to call 911 if you see a drone flying in the city. If you see one harassing birds and you think calling 911 is too extreme, call 311 and report it to the Urban Park Rangers.

Finally, please take a look at Audubon's Guide to Ethical Bird Photography, which provides helpful advice about what to avoid when observing birds. We're extremely fortunate to have hawks nesting so close to us here in the city and as long as we show them respect, we can continue to enjoy them.

Spring Bird Migration 2022 - Part 1

Spring bird migration is well underway across NYC and a great variety of colorful travelers are stopping in to rest and refuel at our urban green spaces. Below are a few highlights seen around town so far.

Yellow-rumped warbler:

 

Palm warbler:

 

Northern parula:

 

Blue-gray gnatcatcher:

 

Rose-breasted grosbeak:

 

Rough-winged swallow:

 

Field sparrow:

 

Chipping sparrow:

 

Eastern towhee:

 

Check out BirdCast for current information about bird migration that is useful for planning bird-watching excursions. You can also enter your city/area on the Migration Dashboard to see how many birds are passing through, and get an idea of what species are expected to be migrating.

Three chicks for Christo and Amelia

Tompkins Square red-tailed hawks, Christo and Amelia, have three chicks this year. We tried all of last week to capture some video, but Urban Hawks has done a better job, which you can check out here.

The first hatch was April 17, but we were not able to see any of the nestlings until April 25. A second chick was seen April 27, and the third on April 30. They are still very small and difficult to observe.

Two of the three:

Mom Amelia serves up dinner:

This marks the third year in a row the hawk pair has hatched three chicks. All three survived to fledge in 2020, but we lost two of the three in 2021. Fingers crossed all goes well for them this year.

This seems like a good time to re-post this information about who to contact in case of a hawk emergency. This page is also linked in the sidebar of this website.

Hatch time for Christo & Amelia, and a new live hawk cam at Columbia University

Happy Earth Day! Tompkins Square red-tailed hawks, Christo and Amelia, have welcomed at least one youngster to the world this week. Hatching activity was first observed on Easter Sunday, and the parents have been seen feeding several times a day since. It's still too early to see the chick(s), or to know how many there are, so we look forward to being surprised over the next couple of weeks.

 

On Monday, we caught Christo as he brought a headless rat to the nest where Amelia was tucked in.

After some coaxing, she got up. We've noted she's an extremely dedicated stay-at-nest mom and will not leave her eggs or chicks easily, even if Christo shows up with food or to relieve her.

In this video, you can see both parents doing some feeding. Christo is on the left and Amelia is on the right. Perhaps this indicates there are two chicks?

On Wednesday, we arrived just as Christo showed up with lunch (rat).

Amelia didn't want to get up just yet.

It was only after Christo took the rat away to eat himself that Amelia got up to feed the young some food that had been stashed in the nest. At the time, the park was full of people at the time who were celebrating 420 Day.

In this video, Amelia feeds the hatchling(s), who are hidden just behind the edge of the nest. Note how far she has to bend into the nest to reach the chicks. 

The music in the background of the video is a live performance by the inimitable Pinc Louds.

 

Later, we tried a different camera angle as Christo and Amelia served dinner. It will be several days before we can see anything more than this, especially as the tree blooms and the leaves block the view. This will provide shade for the hawks, though, as summer heats things up. 

 

The presence of flies is a good indicator there is food being stored in the nest.

On Thursday, we arrived to find Amelia taking a break from brooding to stretch and preen. In doing so, she revealed her brood patch, which looks like a hole in the feathers on her chest.

After a few yoga stretches, Amelia took off for a short flight around the park to stretch her wings. She returned to the nest about two minutes later.

Although we cannot see into this nest which is high in a tree, you can observe the activities at another Manhattan red-tailed hawk nest on this new live camera at Columbia University. You can read more about the details of this nest site, which is on a fire escape, and learn more about the lucky student who is playing host to this hawk family, here.

In more eggciting hawk news, Cornell's Big Red and Arthur have four eggs, two of which are in the process of hatching at the time of this post. If all goes well, there will be four little hawklets to watch on the Cornell Hawk cam in Ithaca, New York.

In celebration of ospreys

Ospreys are making their way north from their wintering grounds in the Gulf of Mexico and are settling into their nesting territories around NYC. It's always exciting to see them arrive in the area and put on spectacular flying displays as they go fishing in and around Jamaica Bay.

We love their long, lanky wings and beautiful black and white coloring. The eyes of the adults are bright, piercing yellow.

Each year, we also like to tune in to the Hellgate Osprey cam, located in Missoula, Montana. The cam features a female osprey named Iris, who is now the oldest known osprey in the world at approximately 25 years old. She's an amazing creature and each April, when she returns to her nest along the Clark Fork River, it's an emotional experience. You can get an overview of her history here.

Quick Tompkins Square hawk update

Red-tailed hawks, Christo and Amelia, continue to brood in Tompkins Square Park. Things seem to be calm with them, which is good news. 

They're going about their business as usual, which includes switching egg-warming duties. We caught them performing a nest-switch the other evening, which you can see in the video below. Christo takes over brooding while Amelia takes a break to stretch her wings.

Later, Christo perched atop the flagpole to do a little hunting.

He has a good view of all the rats and other prey from up there. Perhaps he enjoys observing all the human activity in the park as well.