Central Park Red-tail Notes

Field Notes 24 April 2006

Sunset: 7:42
Temperature: 65F
Cloudy
Intermittent rain
Wind: Gusting to 12MPH

All times PM unless otherwise noted.

Fifth Ave. Nest

3:40 Pale Male to nest left, Lola off. Pale Male turns, moves twigs, scratches, sits.

4:20 Lola discovered on the Oreo Antenna, she leans over into copulation position momentarily. Pale Male remains on th nest out of sight.

Trump Parc Nest

5:20 Jr. perched on the west upper prong of the X in the ESSEX sign. No sight of Charlotte on the nest.


5:45 My cell phone rings, it's Stella over at The Hawk Bench, she says that Lola is still on the Oreo Antenna, and just leaned over into copulation position again.

6:06 Many clouds in the sky and The Central Park Path Lights come on. Still no sight of Charlotte yet.

6:09 A new person, Jerry, climbs the hill to ask what I'm looking at. Turns out he's a birder and is very excited about the hawks nest.

6:17 A young healthy raccoon is at the base of a tree down Little Hill and near the path. He climbs up the tree with something in his mouth. Gets to the first large branch and eats it. He's started drawing a crowd of people photographing him with their cell phones. He continues to climb the tree in a completely unhurried fashion.

6:30 Jean D. arrives and says that Jr. has just left the ESSEX sign and gone into the park.

6:39 Jr. sighted above treeline circling, to the west, circling slowing gaining altitude.

6:40 Jr. flies over little hill with prey (?). Lands on the nest, prey in talons. It's a large squirrel. Charlotte finally appears beaks the squirrel, then grabs it in her beak and flies west with it. (She often flies off nest with prey in beak as opposed to 5th Ave hawks habit of flying off with prey in talons.) Jr. heads for the bowl, moves a twig, settles in.

6:58 Charlotte comes from the west, flying east on Central Park South, lands on the southeast corner of east Hampshire House Chimney, tail to north. Then is up and perches on first E in Essex House Sign.

7:01 Charlotte disappears behind Essex House.

7:15 Exit. Clouds extremely threatening. Charlotte is now perched on the same spot Jr. was previously. The upper west corner of the X in the ESSEX sign.