Dad of the Cathedral Nest, Norman, with all three eyasses in view-- Large, next to St. Andrew's head, Medium below Norman's breast, and Small under his tail.
Most of us have a heck of a time telling Norman from Isolde most of the time, unless a belly band is in full view. I decided perhaps scrutinizing him in a sequence of photos might help. In this photo you can see that his eyes are still ever so slightly lighter then Isolde's are.
Have you noticed? Norman has turned into rather a "looker" of a Red-tail. Isolde knows how to pick them. Tristan was a beauty as well.
Check out the belly band; it is quite different from Isolde's when you're able to get a good look at it. Norman is usually so busy buzzing from one spot to another it is often very difficult to get a bead on it.
Also I hadn't realized it before but Norman gives the impression of being rather short legged. I don't know if that is true, because it may be only an impression giving by his incredibly well muscled thighs. He's a very well muscled hawk. Just look at his chest. Of course as he seems to spend huge amounts of time flying around like a maniac, he would be sporting six pack abs.
Sometimes I think of him as the Jimmy Cagney of hawks. He's smallish, takes no prisoners, terrifies the competition even if they are bigger, and rather gives off the impression that he is asking, "Is this a private fight or can anyone join in?"
Other differences between he and Isolde-- his brow is slightly lighter and the area below his eyes and breaking off at the cere often refracts light in a way that makes it look almost white, though it isn't.
It still isn't going to be easy, but I'm going to start also looking for those six pack abs and those speed skater thighs.
In this photo the area above his beak, is also catching the light in a way that makes it look quite pale.
One way we used to be able to tell Isolde and Tristan apart was because Isolde had the epaulets, the head coloration coming down onto her shoulders in a way that Tristan's didn't. Unfortunately for us, both Isolde and Norman have it.
Unfortunately sad news about the nest of Mama and Papa in Queens from Jeff Kollbrunner--
Donna,
We had a sad day at the nest of Mama and Papa this morning. The third eyass has disappeared. The details of its fate is not currently known. It may have perished overnight and was removed from the nest or something else may have occurred.
We are still doing our best to gather as much information from our Hawkcam viewers worldwide in the hope someone observed something. The time frame we have so far is my images of the nest show all three eyasses appear to be fine in the nest at 7:32pm EST on May 3rd. Mama shielded them from view the rest of the evening.
At 8am on May 4th a worker at the building reported that only two eyasses were in the nest when he arrived. An observer of Hawkcam indicated that the third eyass appeared sick at some point and may have died in the nest. This is all the information we have so far and hopefully additional information will be reported that will provide more details in the days to follow.
Best, Jeff
www.jknaturegallery.com
You heard him folks, if anyone saw anything while watching the hawkcam, any particular symptoms, aberrations of health in the eyass, please get in touch and I'll pass it along. Beyond just our knowledge of what might have occurred, if it were a communicable disease that carried off the eyass, a little knowledge would go a long way in treating the other two eyasses prophylactically for the disease if that were deemed something that could help.
FOR THE RAPTOR WATCHERS WHO ARE IN RANGE, THIS WOULD BE A GREAT EVENT TO ATTEND! I KNOW I'D LOVE TO BE THERE BUT AFFAIRS KEEP IN WISCONSIN AT THE MOMENT.
A BIG THANK YOU TO SUSAN B. ELBIN OF NYC AUDUBON FOR THE HEADS UP.
INTERNATIONAL RAPTOR CONSERVATION CONFERENCE
On International Migratory Bird Day Weekend
Friday & Saturday, May 7 - 8, 2010
"Monitoring and Managing Raptor Populations: Forging a Collaboration of
Professional & Volunteer Conservationists"
Join people from across the hemisphere for a collaborative conference to
identify raptor management priorities and opportunities to engage Citizen
Scientists in these strategies. Events start on Friday night and continue
all day on Saturday. This raptor conservation conference is open to the
public. Event details follow. Registration can be completed online or by
phone. To register online, please use the link below. To register by phone,
please contact Audubon's Events and Communications Manager, Jeff Cordulack
at 203-869-5272 x239 to sign up.
https://www.brownpapertickets.com/event/105389. The $30 registration fee
includes Friday night's reception, Saturday's conference, and lunch on
Saturday.
EVENT DETAILS BELOW:
Friday, May 7
6:00 - 9:00 pm: Special Reception & Presentation:
Join Audubon's guests and Dr. Chris Farmer, Senior Research Biologist for
the Acopian Center for Conservation at Hawk Mountain Sanctuary, when he
discusses the status of the American Kestrel and highlights the struggles of
this iconic species. Friday's event is included with conference registration
or $15 suggested donation is welcome at the door. If you do not plan on
attending the conference on Saturday but would like to join the Friday
reception, do so and RSVP by May 6. RSVPs can be left with Jeff at
203-869-5272 x239.
~~~
Saturday, May 8
6:30-8:00 am: Early Morning Bird Walk - Meet in the main parking lot at
Audubon Greenwich. RSVP appreciated, leave a message at 203-869-5272 x221.
8:00-9:00 am: Annual Birders Breakfast - Join the annual tradition of a
hearty breakfast in the Ketay-Asnes Barn at Audubon Greenwich. Park in main
lot and follow the paved driveway and pathway to the red barn. RSVP
required. Leave a message at 203-869-5272 x221 by May 6.
~~~
9:00 am - 5:00 pm: Raptor Science Conference
A full day of panel discussions, exhibits, and special presentations will
feature Keynote Speaker, Laurie J. Goodrich, the Senior Monitoring
Biologist, Acopian Center Hawk Mountain Sanctuary. She will present "From
Counts to Conservation: Geography and Conservation of Migratory Raptors in
the Americas".
This special day will also feature international guests, Elisa Peres Barbosa
& Eduardo Martinez from ProNatura in Veracruz, Mexico. They will present on
"The River of Raptors Project in Veracruz, Mexico". RSVP required by May 6.
Follow the links below to sign up online.
~~~
6:00 - 9:00 pm: Post-Conference Dinner in the Ketay-Asnes Barn
Audubon Greenwich will also host a special dinner on Saturday night with
many of the visiting scientists, Audubon supporters and other special guests
in the Ketay-Asnes Barn. To sign up for this additional event and the
conference at the same time, use the online registration site and select the
'May 8' option from the tickets menu when registering for the raptor
conservation conference. Dinner: $30 per person. Space is limited. If you
will only attend this dinner and not the conference events, please RSVP to
Jeff by May 6 at 203-869-5272 x239.
~~~
More conference information and the list of speakers and co-sponsors, visit:
http://greenwich.audubon.org/News.html.
FOR DIRECT ACCESS TO THE ONLINE REGISTRATION WEBSITE, CLICK HERE:
https://www.brownpapertickets.com/event/105389
*****
Jeff Cordulack
Events and Communications Manager
Audubon Connecticut/Audubon Greenwich
613 Riversville Road
Greenwich, CT 06831
203-869-5272 x239
203-613-8813 (cell)
jcordulack@audubon.org
http://greenwich.audubon.org
http://audubonct.org
***
Audubon Connecticut, the state organization of the National Audubon Society
with more than 9,000 members statewide, works to protect birds, other
wildlife and their habitats using education, science and conservation, and
legislative advocacy for the benefit of humanity and the earth's biological
diversity. Through our network of nature centers, wildlife sanctuaries, and
local, volunteer Chapters, we seek to connect people with nature and inspire
the next generation of conservationists.
"The significant problems we face cannot be solved at the same level of
thinking we were at when we created them." - Albert Einstein
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