How do you tell them apart?

Eldest on the left and Youngest on the right.

How do you tell them apart?


Good question. But today, working on a hunch and using yesterday's photos, I think I've found a way. Be aware though that the cues one uses today, may not hold true in a day or two on these growing birds.

The current easy way when the Divine Fledglings are side by side, is the length of their primary feathers. Eldest's are longer because she is older. But how often do they cooperate by standing side by side, both their backs toward you, so you can see their "wing tips" and compare?

Good luck.

As we do have the view of the primaries we can say as of yesterday which is older and look at the difference in the patterns of their backs to match later which hatched first and fledged first. Currently their backs look quite different. The pattern on Eldest's back makes a pale V with "regular" sections progressing outward from that V. On the other hand, Youngest has a variety of dark more circular "blobs" encircled by pale feathers.


Then there is the question of their sex. Passers-by ask daily whether or not we can tell. The short answer about birds without differentiating plumage is, you wait and see who lays the eggs. But it's interesting to take a look at the Fledglings relative sizes. Being these are both well fed and therefore well grown urban hawks, even with the possible week of difference in age, I've begun to wonder if Eldest isn't a female.

Yes, there are some optical issues to take into account in the photo. And Youngest may be leaning a touch forward. Though not too far as her tail is still touching the molding. Even given that, look at their feet. One can see Youngest's talons but not Eldest's. Eldest is standing deeper but is still taller. She also appears broader, chunkier even though Youngest is showing a more complete view of her back to the camera. Yes there is a slight difference in age. But I'm going to keep an eye on them and see if the little size differences now, which intuit possible "femaleness", come to fruition. Who knows, they may prove to be useful the next time around. If, in the end, Eldest does prove to be a female after all.

So you want to know who's who? Keeping an eye on those primaries and the patterns on their backs will help you...at least for the next span of time. But all the while, do keep a look out for what the next cues to their identity may be. And if you see something, do pass it on and help the other birder have as much fun as you're having telling them apart.

THE SIBLINGS DIVINE TAKE EACH OTHER ON OVER A RAT 23 JUN 2006

Eldest and Youngest, later in the evening.


6:00pm Perched in a Locust Tree just inside Morningside Park across from the Cathedral.

When Samantha and I arrive Jean Dane and Bruce Yolton are already watching the fledglings in the tree they are sharing just inside Morningside Park. Jean mentions that Mom is perched on the antenna down the way. Soon Robert Schumunk arrives and then there are brief visits from many of the new local hawkwatchers as they go about their evening business..

6:02pm Youngest in the same Locust Tree. For the next 45 minutes or so the Fledglings preen, rest, look at dogs, and wait for dinner.

Photograph by Donegal Browne
6:51pm Fledglings start begging as mature Red-tail flies across the street from east to west with prey in talons.
6:54pm Mom still on antenna on 217.


6:58pm It's Dad. He arrives to a duet of begging with good sized rat and perches on south arm of cross. He prepares prey and eats some himself.

7:11pm Dad is up, circles, lost from sight in trees going toward Cathedral School.

7:16pm Eldest gets there first and starts to eat rat left by Dad on crenelated molding of school.


Note the facial expression. Eldest is eating and Youngest isn't.

7:25pm Youngest has made her way across the street and is perched on chapel roof watching Eldest eat prey. She then flies to west crenelated molding on Cathedral School.
7:31pm to 7:34pm Neither fledge is seen in the rat corner. Youngest is making a stealth approach behind the crenelated molding. Unknown whether there is any sharing of the rat out of sight.

7:34pm Both heads are seen. Eldest moves prey out of Youngest reach.


7:35pm Youngest watches Eldest gobble rat.


Photograph by Donegal Browne

7:35pm Youngest goes for Eldest. A tremendous flurry of activity ensues for what seems like a split second.



Photograph by Donegal Browne

7:39pm Eldest, with agressive feathers standing up on the nape of her neck, watches Youngest have some rat. They've taken several swipes at each other since the initial interaction. No contact, evasive action taken.
7:48pm Youngest, who seems to have seen Mom coming, flies to adjacent tree beyond fence.


Photograph by Samantha Browne-Walters
8:01pm Youngest watches Mom fly by.


Ph0tograph by Samantha Browne-Walters
8:10pm


Photograph by Samantha Browne-Walters
Eldest comes in next to Youngest.

Photograph by Samantha Browne-Walters

8:15pm Cheek by jowl after dinner in London Plane on Morningside Drive.


8:26pm Mom to first small gabled window south of higher storied section of the Cathedral School building. She flew by originally at 8:01pm, possibly with prey, then reappeared about 8:15pm. There is some thought that she stashed prey for a further feeding this evening. As sunset was approaching, all other hawkwatchers had exited, and the area becoming deserted, my daughter Samantha and I didn't wait to find out.

8:40pm Exit.

Ben Cacace Responds and More From John Blakeman

Photograph by Donegal Browne

Eyass? Fledgling? Both?


From Ben Cacace...

John,

Thanks for the follow-up to my error in thinking eyass was only the nestling phase. This was gathered from my reading of texts over the past ten years and missing the use of this term during the fledgling stage.

I just checked Wheeler's 'Raptors of Eastern North America' and he has:
Eyass. Nestling or fledgling falcon.

Ben

P.S. - Whenever I referred to the young Red-tailed Hawks in a nest I always referred to them as nestlings.


More on raptor terms from John Blakeman...

I failed to describe some other raptor and falconry terms that, in the end, can be useful.

Just as a female horse is a mare, and a male a stallion (or if "fixed," a gelding), the sexes of hawks have specific names (sort of).

Let's start with the simplest and most straightforward. The term is "tiercel" (or "tercel" -- like the others, these are old English words, from a time when orthography, agreed-upon spelling, didn't much exist). A tiercel is a male hawk of any kind. Pale Male is a tiercel supreme. The word, as I understand it, derives from an early French word meaning "one third." That's because peregrine tiercels are about one third smaller than peregrine females. Virtually all male raptors are smaller than females (which is a whole 'nother topic we won't go into here).

(More on sexual dimorphism in hawks when it comes to size in the archives of Marie Winn's wonderful site...www.mariewinn.com/ D. B.)

The male is a tiercel. What's the female? If she's a peregrine, she's the falcon. In the strictest usage, a falcon is the female of any of the authentic falcons (genus Falco). In earlier times (as in many lines of Shakespeare), one can fly a "peregrine," a type of hawk. One could fly a peregrine tiercel, a smaller male, or a peregrine falcon, the larger female.

Of course, today a peregrine falcon is an entire species, not the sex. But falconers still understand the original usage, and wince a bit when someone speaks of a tiercel falcon (a "male female"). Consequently, falconers have to be judicious in how they use the terms "tiercel" and "falcon."

The real problem is with the red-tail and other non-falcon hawks. Pale Male is a fine red-tail tiercel. But he's never had a red-tail falcon as a mate. There is no such thing. Female red-tails lack a fine English name from four centuries ago. That's because red-tailed hawks aren't found in Europe, so they were never used for falconry there. Today, female red-tails are commonly referred to as "hens," a term as deficient as "chick" for an eyass in my mind. A hen is a female chicken, and my female red-tail far eclipses any chicken hen I've ever seen.

Late at night I've tried to come up with some new contemporary word that would be applied to female red-tails, a term that would connote or suggest the same sort of identifiable traits that the wonderful term "tiercel" does for males. So far, I've come up with nothing. And even if I did, my powers of persuading my fellow falconers to adopt the new term would be nil. Falconers, as you can imagine, are a somewhat contentious lot not easily given to otherwise arbitrary new terms. So lacking any early English precedents, female red-tails are (somewhat ignominiously) still just "hens." (I cringe.)

The last thing I'll touch on is the difference between a falcon and a hawk. This could go on for many pages, but I'll limit it to just general hawks and falcons. In short, all falcons are hawks. A falcon (a species, not a female) is a specific kind of hawk, with long, powerful wings, etc. Falcons are all in the genus Falco. There are many kinds of hawk, in many genera (closely related taxonomic groupings). A falcon is a specific kind of hawk.

That's enough of all of that.

--John Blakeman

An Evening With The Divines And Three Sets of Eyes Watching Four Hawks Are Better Than One, 22 JUN 2006

Eldest


6:28pm On the way from the subway as we walk on 110th, I peer through the trees. YES! There is a Red-tail on the end of Gabriel's horn. It won't be a totally dry evening after all.
6:33pm We get close enough and it is Dad perched on the end of Gabriel's horn.
6:44pm Samantha who has been left on the north side of the Cathedral while Robert and I search, sees Dad dive bombed, and hit twice by a Mockingbird while on Gabriel.


6:45pm Eldest discovered by Robert on exterior decorative element, east wall, St. Savior Chapel. She does a very detailed preening job. (Robert Schmunk's notes for thos evening may be found at http://bloomingdalevillage.blogspot.com/2006/06/cathedral-hawkwatching-june-22.html)
Also 6:45pm, Sam reports Dad is off Gabriel and has disappeared from sight on the south side of the Cathedral.


7:10pm Eldest moves to the south, same decorative element, continues preening, but pauses for a gargoyle mimicry moment.
7:13pm Mockingbird dives at Eldest.

Photograph by Samantha Browne-Walters
Eldest reacts.

7:14 Fly begins to buzz her head.
7:21 Eldest hops back to original spot on stonework.


Now who is this, in the tree down the hill? Yes, it's Youngest.


Youngest in tree overlooking Cathedral Playground.

7:22pm Unknown hawk in tree adjacent to Eldest on St. Savior Chapel decoration.
7:23pm Eldest no longer on Chapel decoration. ???

Eldest in the tree up the hill. (Somehow all the green lighting from the leaves makes her look like a giant budgie.)

7:28 Hawk in tree scolded by Catbird. Upon scrutiny this is Eldest. But we had a bit of confusion going for awhile. Because previously, Eldest had been on Chapel decoration and another hawk, Or was it another hawk? Youngest?, Dad?, Mom?, When did Eldest move?, had been in the tree. I'd gone N to look for the parents, Robert had gone down the hill to look at Youngest and Sam had stayed with Eldest. But until we all compared notes later on who we'd seen or not seen during that moment we had a bit of a mystery. As I said three pairs of eyes are far better than one.

7:32pm Eldest goes to yet another branch. A feather starts to drift down. Sam runs across the street. A possible feather for The Department of Environmental Conservation and DNA testing? More feathers fall. Hmmmm. Sam is not fooled, too many and some of them have blood on them. We look up and Eldest is eating something...obviously avian. She plucks jillions of feathers off a Red Pied Pigeon and they waft down in a kind of blizzard onto a parked car with a man inside it. The man can't quite think what to make of it. He gets out and looks up. Sam, who'd gone over to check the first feather, explains what is happening. Smiling, the man comes over for a chat.








Note prey down right.

7:33pm Eldest is having a dreadful time keeping her balance, keeping the prey IN the tree, and eating at the same time. A wing falls to the ground. She looks down for a moment and then goes back to the struggle.


Photograph by Donegal Browne

7:50pm A local hawkwatching couple comes by for a look through the scope and tells us they've seen one of the hawks on an apartment building across the way. We turn the scope around and sure enough, there is Mom perched on the scaffolding of 300 W. 110th St. (The building is beyond the park on it's other side and above Frederick Douglass Circle.)


Photograph by Donegal Browne

8:08pm Eldest has moved to a London Plane on the east side of Morningside Drive. She pants.

8:18pm The Catbirds mob her and Eldest moves to a different branch, closer to the parkside of the London Plane but more densely leaved.

8:19pm The Catbird attack is joined by a Mockingbird. Before, Eldest seemed to be pretty much going about her business, though changing branches now and again. With the addition of the Mockingbird, she seems more wary. A body freeze with mobile head keeping close track of the Mocker's position.

8:25pm It's very dark up there in the trees and The Mob has quieted some, almost time for them to roost as well. Exit.

John Blakeman responds in the discussion over "raptor terms"

Photograph by Donegal Browne

Donna,

I beg to differ with such an authority as a Merriam-Webster dictionary. In the strictest sense, the dictionary reference is correct, a baby hawk on a nest is an "eyas."

But the etymologist who wrote this entry was not aware of the proper, historical falconry use of the term. And be aware that several centuries ago, when the term entered the English language, there were no ornithologists. The term was devised and used by falconers, no one else. At its origin, it was a falconry term.

And falconers continue to use it. To a falconer, to say that a baby hawk is a "chick" is downright demeaning. A baby chicken is a "chick." And baby chickens bear no behavioral resemblance to the far more (to use a favorite personal term) regal raptors. We falconers cringe when the unknowing call a baby hawk a "chick."

Fortunately, NYC hawkwatchers are now using the proper term. The hatchlings on the St. John the Divine nest were eyasses -- and using the proper contemporary term, they will be "eyasses" for their entire first year. Here's how the terminology works for falconers.

And by the way, the modern, accepted spelling is "eyass" and "eyasses." "Eyas" is also accepted, but is more archaic. The two-S form is preferable.

Here's how falconers use proper sex and age designating terms. All, as the dictionary mentioned, derive from much earlier usages, when falconry was a common sport in England, before the advent of sporting firearms.

Eyass -- 1) a young hawk on the nest, and 2) a falconer's hawk at any age that was initially taken from the nest. A falconer's eyass hawk could be five years old. Falconers use this helpful term because eyasses taken for falconry tend to retain some of their youthful behaviors throughout their lives. (Be aware, however, that very few eyasses are taken by modern falconers for falconry. Eyasses are hard to train and easily become imprinted -- behaviorally disturbed. Modern falconers seldom take eyasses. In many states, such as here in Ohio, the taking of eyasses for falconry is illegal and doesn't occur.)

Most wild raptors taken for falconry are passagers. A passager is a hawk in its first migration (its first "passage") from August through early winter, or is a hawk taken during that time. My current falconry red-tail, Savanna II, was (as is) a passager. I trapped her late in the migration in October.

Passagers from the north will be seen in Central Park starting in September when the autumnal migration begins. The newly-fledged St. John the Divine eyasses will become passagers when they start to drift off to the south in September or October.

When the birds get their typical red tails, in the molt of their second summer, they of course become adults. The falconry term for an adult hawk is a "haggard." Although in popular usage "haggard" can mean disheveled, to the falconer the term connotes the high intelligence and survivability of an adult hawk. Haggard hawks are survivors. Pale Male is a profound haggard.

For falconry, haggards are useless (and not allowed to be trapped under state and federal falconry regulations). By the time passagers reach adulthood, they have gone through all sorts of survival difficulties and learned how to successfully live in the wild. I continue to marvel at all of the red-tail haggards in New York City.

One last term, which isn't used for wild raptors. An eyass or passage falconry hawk is usually kept through the molt and flown and hunted in the following season. After passing through the molt in the falconer's care, it is said to be "intermewed."

Using all of the proper falconry terms, my current female red-tail is five-times intermewed passager. She was trapped in her first migration, and I've cared for her for five molts. She's now in her sixth molt, getting a new set of feathers to resume hunting next fall.

Oh, I forgot the term "brancher," an eyass that has begun to step out onto the branches of the nest tree. Just before fledging, the eyasses at the cathedral were "branchers." (Or, were they "statuers.")

I hope this isn't too confusing. For those of us who work with raptors and train them, these terms are as useful as those used for other animals. A horse isn't just a horse. There are stallions, fillies, foals, geldings, and who knows what else. For cattle, there are bulls, cows, steers, and calves. So the contorted raptor terminology has historical precedents and parallels.

--John Blakeman

The alliteration of "eyass crossing guard " is ever so much better than
"fledgling crossing guard" any way. :-) D.B.

Cathedral Hawks and Ben Cacace on the usage of the word Eyas

PHOTOGRAPH BY DONEGAL BROWNE

A Mother's work is never done.
Mom, vigilant, on St. Savior's Cross.



PHOTGRAPH BY DONEGAL BROWNE
Mom keeps her eye on a dog.



PHOTOGRAPH BY DONEGAL BROWNE
And another...

Robert Schmunk, uptown hawkwatcher and contributer of wonderful photos to the blog, took some time on his lunch hour today to do a "Red-tail Check" on The Cathedral Family.

Here's his report.

Short Wednesday afternoon report...

Wandered around the Cathedral from about 2:00 to 2:40. No sign of any of the hawks, but the sun is brutal unless you stay in a shady spot. I figured that all the hawks were perched somewhere cool until later in the day. Walking back to the office, I stopped on 112th St a few feet off Amsterdam and looked back towards St Luke's, and spotted a hawk. I head back over that direction, and found it was Mom sitting on a rooftop railing on 114th St. about 60 ft off Morningside Drive. And that was it.
rps

And here are the observations of my short visit...D.B.

4:37 pm Mom is perched on the St. Savior Cross above the Chapel of the same name at the rear of the Cathedral. She is in the sun but not panting though she does have rather large circles under her eyes and her feathers have that rumpled look that females get from a long season of sitting eggs and caring for a nest full of young.

4:45pm A few begging calls are heard from the north of Mom. She continues to sit on the cross. She is very alert to dogs on the sidewalk below her and I suspect that if one of her fledges were on the ground and an unleashed dog took after it that she would swoop down to protect it.

5:18pm I've crossed the street to pursue other sightings when suddenly a mature RT comes zooming out of the trees, red tail flashing, at 114th and zips west. I presume it's Dad as Mom doesn't seem concerned but I can't positively say.

5:42pm I'm searching the roofs near Mom when I notice her beak is moving. I hurry closer and she is making a soft , chuck, chuck, sound. I then remember the vocalization from last season as something Charlotte, the female of the Trump Parc pair, made as a sort of soothing sound to her eyasses on the nest. Seems to be used for fledglings as well, as it turns out. But I've searched every square inch of visible perches for the fledges and for the life of me, I just can't find the young that she's "chucking" for. I guess they are being soothed in invisible from the ground shady corners.

6:15pm My own version of a fledgling, Samantha, calls, and I exit.


PHOTOGRAPH BY DONEGAL BROWNE

Remember when I wondered why Youngest's toes had red tips? I didn't know if it was heat related, or residue, or what. I asked John Blakeman, who has intimate knowledge of all things Red-tail, and he said it had nothing to do with the temperature. Well, look at Mom's foot in the photograph above that I took today. The "red" is far more irregular than Youngest's "tips" but it has the same color and look. Residue from a meal.


PHOTOGRAPH BY ROBERT SCHMUNK

Just after I exited, Robert Schmunk and four other stalwart Hawkwatchers took up the observation task. On their arrival Mom is still on the St. Savior Cross.

Robert's evening report-

Walking down Morningside Drive, I discovered a fledgling perched on an eave of the roof of St. Martin Chapel (one chapel clockwise from St. Savior). (See link below)

(New uptown hawkwatcher, Paula Nast reports that at 6:41 Divine Dad flew in and perched on Gabriel. D.B.)

Shortly before 7 p.m., things got exciting. First Dad flew off toward CentralPark, then Mom swooped down over Morningside Park. Then we see that the fledgling on St. Martin's Chapel is getting active, moving from one roof corner to another and then back. A couple minutes later the fledgling decides to fly and makes for the roof of the north wing of the Cathedral School!

And to add to the excitement the other fledgling comes out of nowhere to join her. The second had apparently been hiding somewhere just out ofview, perhaps over on the roof of St. Ambrose Chapel (one clockwise from St. Martin).

Unfortunately the gables on the Cathedral School stick up higher than the roof, which with the tree cover makes taking pix difficult. As we're trying to do so, one of the fledglings flies to the roof of the south wing of the Cathedral School. At that point, all five hawkwatchers completely lose track of where the fledglings are, and we have people on both sides of the street pacing slowly around trying to find them.

Around 7:15, someone noticed that Mom is atop the water tower on the roof of 412 West 110th St. After that, everyone moseyed around to Amsterdam Ave. and we went exploring for hawks on the south side of the Cathedral campus. While we're doing so, Mom shifts from the water tower over to Gabriel's horn.

Close to 7:30, Bruce finds one of the fledglings perched on an eave of the roof on the backside of the Cathedral School. We admire her for awhile, point her out to some kids who have been playing basketball on the school court, and then it's time to leave. As the day comes to a close, we see Mom still perched on Gabriel's horn, but being harassed (and ignoring it) by a smaller bird that alternately perches on one of Gabriel's wings, chirps loudly, and tries to buzz Mom.
rps

http://flickr.com/photos/rbs10025/172345305/in/set-72157594167287989/

And....Ben Cacace Sends In A Correction

For those new folks who may not know Ben, after all he does tend towards a lower profile than some, Ben Cacace has been watching Pale Male and Company since 1996, only a few years shy of the very beginning of their urban invasion. He is also the observer who watched and carefully recorded the activities of the Trump Parc Hawks when most eyes were glued to the Fifth Avenue Pair and of late has been the vanguard when it comes to the observation of the GM Building Peregrines.

Now Ben is kind of a stickler. Okay, not kind of, he is a stickler. Accuracy in all things is important. Whether in field notes or in word usuage, correct is correct. Having had some stickler moments myself, I can agree with him.

Though let me add, Ben is not a Dreaded Nitpicker. There is no sense of "Gotcha", or smugness, or weird competition, when an email arrives in one's box from Ben. Therefore I opened this one with anticipation to find out just which incorrect detail had slipped through this time.

Ben writes in regards to my whimsical use of "eyass crossing guards"...

Please note that referring to an eyas that is no longer in the nest is not correct.

An eyas (eyases) are nestlings / unfledged hawks.

See Merriam-Webster below:

Main Entry: ey·as Etymology: Middle English, alteration (by incorrect division of a neias) of neias, from Middle French niais fresh from the nest, from (assumed) Vulgar Latin nidax nestling, from Latin nidus nest -- more at NEST: an unfledged bird; specifically : a nestling hawk.

And he, as usual, is absolutely correct. Thanks, Ben!

And here is Ben's blog address- http://novahunter.blogspot.com/

What happened to Youngest?

Photo by Robert Schmunk


Photo by Robert Schmunk

Robert sent in this update for what happened Monday evening after I left...

Just an FYI that Monday evening, all four hawks were visible between 6:50 and 7:20.One of the babies was perched atop a bush right next to the entrance to Morningside Parkat 113th St. for the entire time I was there (6:30 to 8:00). It was possible to get within 20 feet of it and take some pix. Mom was across the street on one corner or the other ofSt. Luke's roof. One assumes she was keeping an eye on the fledgling but she never showed any concern about the 3-4 hawkwatchers near her baby.http://flickr.com/photos/rbs10025/170904184/in/set-72157594167287989/rbs


Anonymous asked:

Did the younger fledgling get fed? Is s/he still on the ground? I'm confused. (not your fault.)

As of this Tuesday afternoon, all was well. I was ill today so unable to make it up to the Cathedral but Stella Hamilton, Marianne Girards, and Robert Schmunk, caring hawkwatchers all, were on the spot to make sure all went well. Stella called this afternoon to let me know that, yes, everyone had been fed, and as we spoke, Eldest was up on the red brick wall of the Cathedral and Youngest was situated on one of the short roofs at the rear of the church.
D.B.

And a second update from Rob for Tuesday...

Both fledglings were seen on St Savior Chapel just after 5:00 p.m. on Tuesday. One was perched on a little ledge atop one of the statues on the outside wall, whilst the other perched atop the cross. The following two photos were taken just a minute apart:http://www.flickr.com/photos/rbs10025/171731568/in/set-72157594167287989/http://www.flickr.com/photos/rbs10025/171731552/in/set-72157594167287989/

It's ever so much easier for parents, whether hawk or human, if their progeny are in relatively the same area. D.B.
The rest of Monday's events follow this post.

Part One of Youngest Divine Almost Run Down...plus next three posts constitute the action for Monday, 12 JUN 2006

Youngest in the bushes.

10:05pm Crossing over to the park on Manhattan Avenue I ran into a local hawkwatcher who said he had been watching Dad and Eldest, he thinks it is Eldest anyway, until just a little while ago, going from tree to tree in the park as Eldest was getting mobbed. I decide to start in the park today and take off on the paths and stairs.

11:02pm I've not seen or heard anything in the park so make my way up the hill to Morningside Drive.

11:20-12:01pm Mom high in tree overlooking parking lot. Then she takes off and soars over Morningside Park, though the air is so still she actually has to do some flapping now and again. She makes the circuit over to Manhattan Avenue comes back and I loose her in the trees.

12:11pm Youngest on balcony rail with a full crop.

12:12pm Mom on Gabriel.

12:20pm

12:40 Make the shade.

Big stretch.

1:06pm Mom is still up on Gabriel.

1:12pm Why are the tips of Youngest's toes so red? Hot? Increased circulation? "Residue"?Blood close to skin for cooling?

1:30PM Youngest limp and napping on her feet in the meager shade.

1:35pm It is growing very hot, 90F, and muggy. The hawks are feeling the heat and look like they won't be up to much for hours. Perhaps later when it is cooler there will be some activity. I decide I'll go and visit the inside of the Cathedral. Something I've been wanting to do since I first came up to see the hawks. I've not been inside for years.

2:21pm Done with my outing inside the Cathedral, I turn east on 113th St. for one last look before heading home. And there on the sidewalk is one of the Fledges. She is nervously going back and forth in front of the parking lot fence. This is dicey. I look around, not one Hawkwatcher in sight. What to do? Suddenly a pedestrian walks past me and toward her. I point and ask if he might walk on the other side of the street so as not to frighten her as she seems pretty nervous already. There is a language barrier. He thinks I want to take photographs so he shouldn't startle her. Whatever works. I dig out my camera. She heads for 113th and I go into the street hoping to keep her out of the traffic that periodically rolls by. My friend the pedestrian gets the idea and helps.


2:23pm Youngest investigates a lamp pole possibly for an attempt to get higher off the ground.

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We attempt to keep Youngest from coming into 113th St. traffic by standing in the road.

Yes, we're still here.

There is a break in the photo action here because I flipped my camera to video. That seemed like a good idea after it started so I have two video clips of Youngest activities during this time frame. They are pretty nifty except they play upside down on my computer. (NO, I didn't have the camera upside down, because the video clip taken later of her in the bushes while situated calmly is also upside down.)

She attempts to find an opening in the fence again.


2:26pm Youngest goes back and forth, back and forth, in front of the fence then begins running east towards Morningside Drive.

No photos taken during this interval, things became far too hectic.
Somewhere during this process, we've picked up another helper. Amongst the three of us we manage to get the traffic stopped on Morningside and on 113th. Youngest trots across but then is blocked by a parked car. She attempts to flap to it's top, but slides off.

Action picks up in the next post, Part One A....