Fine Weather for Flapping

It was a beautiful day for hawkwatching at The Cathedral. There were clouds certainly, but for most of the afternoon they were the white fluffy kind lazing across a bright blue sky. And as the day progressed so did the number of hawkwatchers. By late afternoon, there was quite a group assembled. News of a fledge at the Fordham nest raced through the observers like wildfire.

I spoke with two gentleman, car mechanics as it turned out, who said they'd never considered watching a bird. They'd parked themselves on Morningside drive and were giddy with every move of a Red-tail, young or old.

Excitement is beginning to build about the eyasses preparing themselves for the big leap. Mom and Dad went in and out numerous times with prey and the larger of the eyasses, had any number of bouts of mad flapping.



The younger eyass sun bathing while the elder, who will soon come and grab her spot, seems to be napping after lunch. When I arrived at 1PM, Larry Curtis, currently taping the hawks for an upcoming film, reported that the parents had been to the nest twice in the last hour with prey.


Mom rising from urn today.

I discovered a few days ago, that the parents aren't always readily visible when they are stationed to watch the nest from the decorative urn on the southeast corner of the roof of the Plant Pavilion. Divine Dad tends to perch on the edge, but I caught him rising out of it last weekend. Divine Mom who seems to be more attached to remaining unseen may well settle out of sight as a marked preference. If "inside", the Red-tail isn't particularly visible for viewers on Morningside Drive's sidewalk . Which is the area from which observers tend to view the roof when searching for the parents. Observers closer to the nest can't see anything but one chimney on that roof as all else is obscured by trees. Crafty, very crafty.


Elder Divine flaps while Younger stays out of the way.


Mom arrives on the east side of the nest.
I'd noticed that the eyass sitting on that edge kept looking up at the sky and I wondered if one of the parents was about to make a delivery. I saw nothing, but from the neck straining of the eyass, I'd say Mom must have circled a number of times before zooming in.


St. Andrew offers the advice that love and patience are the best ways to deal with one's younger sibling as opposed to stealing her perch by pushing her off every five seconds.
Whether Elder is completely convinced is as yet unknown, but it seems unlikely.

No baby face here, the eyasses are beginning to have true "hawk" expressions.


New positions

Touched by King Midas? Or does the whole place, particularly St. Andrew have a liver disorder?
I used a different camera today and early on while shifting positions I seem to have pushed a "special effect" button accidentally. And as you've probably noticed it's rather unbalanced most of the batch. Who knew there was one for "Jaundice"?

But then again....it's only documentation. Or so I keep telling myself.