Pale Male and Lola's Nest, Valkyrie of Thompkins Square, and a First in the U.S. Bird

Photograph Donegal Browne
Pale Male surveys his domain from the vantage point of the 927 Fifth Avenue nest.


The only wind information I had at the point that I emailed John Blakeman was for March 8th, the day with the strongest wind for the month of March 2008, 64 mph wind gusts buffeted the area. The temperature ranged that day from a low of 33F and a high of 48F. I asked Mr. Blakeman whether those temperatures with gusts of wind that strong could have cooled Pale Male and Lola's eggs.


Here is his response--

Donna,

Yes, 60-plus mph gusts, especially at a nest against a wall (as is 927) could cool the eggs. But had incubation begun in the first or second week of March?

John

Which is an excellent question for which I don't have the answer here in Wisconsin. Though Lola was sitting the nest in 2002, 2003, and 2004 by the 8th of March. (Anyone have the 2008 date at their finger tips?) There certainly were other days in March with comparable temperatures, but I haven't dug out wind data for the rest of the month as yet so there may be other days that could be suspect. Guess I better get busy.

Photograph by Francois Portmann www.fotoportmann.com/
And as promised the rest of the dynamite photographic sequence taken by Francois Portmann of Valkyrie the immature Red-tailed Hawk of Tompkins Square Park. The other section can be found on the post, one down, titled "Valkyrie of Tompkins Square, Tulsa Nest Question..."

Looks like Valkyrie has spotted something.

Photograph by Francois Portmann
Is there a bird, under her left foot? If so what is she doing with her right talons?

Photograph by Francois Portmann
And later...

Photograph by Francois Portmann
Valkyrie sees a possible dinner in the scampering form of a Gray Squirrel.

Photograph by Francois Portmann
SHE...

Photograph by Francois Portmann
NEVER...

Photograph by Francois Portmann

DROPS...

Photograph by Francois Portmann

FOCUS! No matter the obstacles. (Continued one post down.)

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R. of Illinois has been out gleaning other birding goodies and here is her find for the day...

Rare 'dinky' bird migrates to US for first time


CHOKE CANYON, Texas – Birders with binoculars and cameras are flocking to a
remote state park in search of a small yellow-chested bird that apparently
crossed the U.S. Border for the first time from its high-mountain habitat to
the south.

At 5 inches with beige and yellow markings, the pine flycatcher doesn't look like much, but its unprecedented migration from Mexico and Guatemala is exciting birders all over the country.

For more follow the link...
http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20090110/ap_on_re_us/rare_bird_3

SUNDAY IS THE MEMORIAL REMEMBERING ELEANOR TAUBER.

I am so sorry I will not be there as I have unavoidable responsibilities here, but I too shall be remembering Eleanor...

Donegal Browne

Brett Odom Finds the Date, Pale Male and Lola, NYTimes Nature News, Plus the Tulsa Red-tails: How to tell Kay from Jay from Thunder

Photograph Donegal Browne
4/22/08 Lola waits for Pale Male to rise from the bowl of the nest.

Southern Central Park and Downtown Hawkwatcher Brett Odom, did yeoman's duty and searched though the Spring, 2008 archives of www.palemale.com/ searching for the reference to the unattended nest episode. Here is Brett's report--

I scoured Lincoln's archives and found the exact date. It was March 29th and PM & Lola left the nest unattended for 11 minutes according to the posting (not sure what time of day it was). Lincoln does not state why. Going back over each day of his archives does reveal a lot with regard to their behavior. There are several instances where he says that Lola sits on the nest for hours without a break or food being brought by PM. Perhaps during some of those instances Lola had to leave the nest unattended to feed herself.

Brett B. Odom
brettodom@mac.com




Photograph courtesy of the New York City Department of Parks and Recreation
January 7, 2009,
After the Holidays, Still on the Lam
By Sewell Chan AND Jennifer 8. Lee


(Sent to the blog by long time reader and contributor Bill Walters.)





FOR MORE FOLLOW THE LINK--


http://cityroom.blogs.nytimes.com/2009/01/07/a-stray-turkey-on-central-park-south/?emc=eta1
I believe there are several Central Park Turkeys and beyond those mentioned in the article there is also Hedda Gobler up in Morningside Park. (It is north of Central Park.) She is a neighbor of Isolde and Norman, who's Red-tail territory includes Morningside Park.



Photograph courtesy of Peter Kayafas




A Red-Tailed Tableau at Bethesda Fountain




"Oh, my God!”




The tour guide leading two dozen high school-aged visitors through Central Park on Thursday morning stopped dead in mid-narration at Bethesda Fountain. There, on the right hand of “Angel of the Waters,” perched a red-tailed hawk. It looked as if it were naturally part of the sculpture — except for the radiant glow of its plumage against the statue’s muted bronze.


FOR MORE FOLLOW THE LINK--http://cityroom.blogs.nytimes.com/2008/04/03/a-red-tailed-tableau-at-bethesda-fountain/?emc=eta1


I particularly like the last line. .

Stage Manager and avid newspaper reader Bill Walters discovered this April 3, 2008, story in the New York Times archive. I'd certainly like to see that hawk's belly band to see if it was Lola for certain. But as it is April, and breeding season with the territorial boundaries harden, it could be Lola. In winter that area and the Ramble across the Lake are destinations for any number of Red-tailed hawks that fly in from their usual residences to partake of Central Park's deep prey base.







HOW TO TELL THE TULSA KJRT TV HAWKS, KAY, JAY, AND THUNDER APART

Many thanks to Tulsa's Cheryl Cavert for the use of her very helpful photographs, and to "Other Donna" of the Tulsa Forum for gleaning the shots that showed the mid-sections of the birds, and sending them on to me.


1/01/09 Kay


Notice her belly band, her "ankles", and a female's slightly larger beak. Because of the angle her belly band appears quite low on her torso. The band appears here as jagged streaks.

The particular head position that shows the length of the beak can be quite helpful as a possible clue to the sex of the bird but not completely definitive except for a very few infallible raptor experts such as Hermione Parry-Jones.

Kay
And the angle here makes her belly band appear further up her breast.
The wind is ruffling her anterior feathers. Note how suddenly they appear more dot like and less streaked.


Kay
We're back to streaks as there is no wind, and here you can see the shoulder wash of color.

12/19/08 Kay
Here the shoulder wash isn't visible, there is a mixed streak and dot pattern, and because of the different light, here here belly band appears paler than before. Even taking into account the varying light, her band is darker than either Thunder's or Jay's.

12/24/08 Kay from the back. Note the eyebrow is visible but nearly as light as Jay's .

Jay has a slightly smaller beak, fluffier feathers on his head, and skinnier ankles if you could see them.

He is in bright sunlight so his already light belly band appears next to nonexistent.

Jay

It's often hard to tell individuals apart by their backs but look at how light Jay's eyebrow is compared to Kay's, one photo up. Yes, Jay's head is lighter, than Kay's and he is slightly smaller but unless they were sitting together it would be difficult to positively ID them from those characteristics without direct comparison.

11/18/08 Thunder

We know that Thunder being a juvenile has lighter eyes than the other two but it is not apparent in the photo. Therefore check the tail. Not rusty red and just discernible--the horizontal stripes of a juvenile.


Thunder's belly band has a tendency to appear more often dotted than streaked even without the ruffling of wind. Her band is darker than her father's and lighter than her mother's.



12/25/08 Thunder


Check out the saturation of color between her head and back. Juveniles have more of a tendency for the head, neck, and back to appear matched. Though by no means a cut and dried field mark for a young bird.






Christmas Eve
Kay and Jay have very similar posterior coloration and pattern.


How sweet is this? Bonded pairs do spend time together in the off season. These two are even touching as they perch.

Which is which?

In this case as we can see both bird's brows and the light is just right, we've got the answer. Jay is top and Kay is bottom.

ADDITIONAL INFORMATION TO THROW IN THE POT IN REFERENCE TO POSSIBLE BEHAVIOR OF KAY AND JAY IF A CAMERA ADDITION IS MADE AT THE KJRH NEST
AN UPDATE ON MAMA AND PAPA'S NEST SITE MOVE IN 2008
From Jeff Kollbrunner, www.jknaturegallery.com/ Jeff and his wife Anna have watched this pair for 14 seasons. (I'm betting Mama and Papa do do interviews with Anna and Jeff.)


Donna,

I had read your update today and want to offer some additional information and clarity as to why Mama and Papa selected a new nest site this past nesting season.

Mama and Papa did use the same building as the previous season that was monitored by Hawkcam. They started using a newly constructed nest on the South side of the building on a similar window air conditioner unit on the same floor as the previous years nest which was located on the North side of the building that the hawkcam monitored. This past season Mama had started using that new nest on the South side of the hawkcam building for about a week when a prolonged period of intense media coverage started for a local trial. There were countless media trucks with their satellites fully extended every day, photojournalists and reporters on rooftops and large loud protests all day long with bull horns in constant use and the like in the immediate area of their nest. All of this being in such close proximity to Mama and Papa's new nest they decided to abandon it, luckily, just prior to laying eggs. Mama and Papa had constructed three nests that year, two on this building and one in a cemetery White Pine tree just East of these other two nests. They elected to move to the Pine tree nest, Mama had three eggs shortly after relocating to the Pine tree where they had three very large and very healthy fledglings.

Mama and Papa typically construct a new nest every year for the past 14 plus years we have been observing them. They have re-used a single location once but had to rebuild that nest from scratch as the Coop board had their previous seasons nest removed when that nesting season was completed. Mama and Papa routinely return to favorite vantage points on tall buildings that have been otherwise disturbed by construction activity or maintenance work. They don't seem bothered by this at all except they will stay away from these favorite vantage points if there is constant maintenance work in progress each day. They will return to these sites when the workers leave for the day and activity at the location ends. They are not disturbed by the scaffolds that are left in place as long as the work crew is gone for the day. When all the equipment is removed and the workers are gone for good Mama and Papa resume their typical use of these vantage points.

All the best,
Jeff


It just occurred to me anew, how the network of Hawkwatchers has grown each year, as has all of our knowledge as we share what we know, surmise, test, and see, every season.


Bravo! Brava! To Hawkwatchers every one.

Donegal Browne

Valkyrie of Thompkins Square, Tulsa Nest Question, and Memories are Picked about 927 in 2008

Photograph by Francois Portmann www.fotoportmann.com/
Eye to eye! Valkyrie really wants that squirrel and he is giving her a run for her money. Thank you to Francois for the great photo sequence. I'm having download problems so I'll try to get the other half of the sequence posted when things smooth out

Photograph by Francois Portmann

Photograph by Francois Portmann

Photograph by Francois Portmann

Photograph by Francois Portmann

Photograph by Francois Portmann

Photograph by Francois Portmann

Photograph by Francois Portmann

Photograph by Francois Portmann

And look who is overseeing the festivities of Red-tail Valkyrie in Tompkins Square Park. She just might be a Valkyrie herself.

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From Sally of the Tulsa Forum--

Dear Donna,

Today several of us were watching the KJRH tower cam with delight as Kay and Jay both visited the nest several times on camera and placed sticks. At one point it was obvious that the camera operator was taking video clips, and there has been discussion by the watchers of trying to get more camera time on the nest.

Today Russell Mills, Online Content Director and our friendly camera/video operator said, "We're currently trying to figure out if we can get a webcam up there somehow which would be locked down on a shot of the nest... no promises, but I'm hopeful."

Is it too late in the nesting season to have someone go up and install a dedicated nestcam, if the station is willing to do so/allow that? We certainly wouldn't want to disrupt the pairs nesting this year! What do you think? We are eager for your opinion!

Sally

Help Raptor Rehabilitation of Kentucky, Inc. by searching and shopping through www.goodsearch.com Good Search donates to our organization for every purchase or search made through its sites.

Sally,

You can never tell for sure how birds will react. But Pale Male and Lola have had people on their nest at various periods of time over the years and they have still always used it. Kay and Jay have used the tower successfully before so that strengthens their bond to it.

Isolde put up with all the scaffolding and workman at the Cathedral of St John the Divine, before nesting, during nesting, and onward though last season, 2008, without abandoning the location. I think part of it for urban hawks may be that there aren't really that many good available nest sites within a given territory so the lack of good alternatives is another selling point to sticking.

That said Mama and Papa in Queens did switch last season to a tree. What their reasoning was we don't know. A nest cam had been installed in their previous site, but they had used the nest with the cam through a full season and then for some reason switched before laying the next year. It's possible that the cam had nothing to do with their move but we don't know because they just refuse to give interviews. A lovely hawk couple they just treasure their privacy.

As I said there is no "for sure" about anything when it comes to hawks. As John Blakeman advised when there was to be work done on the 927 Fifth Avenue, if the installation is done now, the workers aren't up there futzing around for too long, and the installation isn't found by the hawks to be in the way somehow, it should be just fine.

I suggest, as Mr. Blakeman advised us, that just in case the hawks are annoyed by activity near their nest, it would be advisable for the workman to wear hardhats with big "eyes", big black ovals, on the front. (I'll check my archives for a photo for you.) The eyes supposedly make the hawks believe that they are being watched even if they aren't and they will have more of a tendency to keep some distance if and when they swoop in. You might suggest it to Russell Mills as a good safety measure during work in the tower.

As far as I know workman who have worn the "eye" hardhats, and were near the nests before laying, have had some pass overs but nothing close. Mostly the birds just fly over checking out what the men are doing to their nest.

When Isolde had young in the nest, and the workman insisted on using the catwalk directly above the nest, she did slightly nab a worker. He didn't even have his hardhat on, let alone one with eyes, and at least in my opinion had no business being directly above the nest when there were other options available. If humans would just respect a nest for that short period of breeding time, there would be no conflict between hawks and humans. The space could be shared amicably year round. But sometimes humans don't use their supposedly highly developed noggins. They, in my opinion, are the one's causing the conflict, not the hawks.

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Now to the 2008 season at 927 Fifth Avenue--

Longtime watcher of Pale Male Jr. and Charlotte, Brett Odom, remembered another possible clue to the puzzle of Pale Male and Lola's 2008 failure---

Hey Donna.

With regard to John Blakeman's observations about PM and Lola's eggs last year. I do remember Lincoln Karim (www.palemale.com) posting something last spring about PM & Lola leaving the eggs unattended for about 14 minutes (possibly more). I do not recall the weather of this specific instance, but if PM & Lola did this once for Lincoln to observe, it could be safe to say it happened more than that and the weather could have gotten to the eggs.

Brett B. Odom
brettodom@mac.com

It's true. According to the Red-tail literature egg viability can be destroyed by the cooling of eggs during absences and even with an adult covering the eggs in cold windy, or cold wet weather.

Jeff Kollbrunner, www.jknaturegallery.com/ the main watcher of Papa and Momma in Queens sent in a file of weather information. Thanks Jeff.

Also for those who might want to help browse the weather for Spring of 2008, uptown hawkwatcher Rob Schmunk of http://bloomingdalevillage.blogspot.com/ sent an extemely helpful email--

What I have used for this is Wunderground.com.

Look up today's weather for the location of interest.
Then on that page look for a link that says "Weather History for This Location".

The page you are looking at will have links on it for daily, weekly,monthly and yearly info. It will look like it's only bringing up a graph of info, but page down to see a table. Unfortunately though, Wundergound has ads all over it. It will be a much more pleasant site if you have an ad blocker plugin in your browser.

Thank you Rob!

Donegal Browne