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Archive April 1, 2012 - April 30, 2012
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April 5: Mama and Papa were observed swapping duties at the nest today at 2pm and 6:30pm. They were very quick
exchanges and I was not able to see how many eggs are in the nest. If anyone happens to have observed how eggs are in
the nest please email me and we will post the observation.
April 4: All is fine at the nest, Mama and Papa continue their nesting duties as we get closer to a potential hatch(s). Based
on their first day staying on the nest mid April becomes the time to watch very carefully for changes in the parents
behaviors or possibly witnessing a hatch. This seasons Hawkcam has the highest angle of view into the nest bowl that we
have had since the inception of the Hawkcam in 2007.
April 3: Big news today, with the help of our friends at the facility where Mama and Papa are nesting this season we
successfully relocated the Hawkcam. So, once again we are fortunate to have a close up window observing live video of the
Briarwood Red-tailed Hawk parents Mama and Papa as they sit on this seasons eggs and eventually raise their young.
This is a wonderful opportunity for everyone to share and witness events as they unfold at the nest of these magnificent
Birds of Prey, the Red-tailed Hawk pair that we all have come to love over the years that otherwise would never be seen.
Last season Mama and Papa had two fledglings in a nest they built very nearby in a pine tree both fledglings are still
around and have been observed nearby recently. Please follow the links on this website to the Hawkcam - Live Video or
watch on the go with your smartphone.
April 1-2: All is fine at the nest. It looks good for this week that we will be able to relocate the Hawkcam, stay tuned. On  
walk Sunday I noticed that about a dozen mature Chery trees were cut down to make room for a construction project. The
trees were mature Cherry tress about 30 years of age that appeared very healthy and were in full bloom. The fledglings in
year past typically use these trees as their training area for the first couple months out of the nest. It is very sad to loose
these beautiful trees to make space for construction equipment, lets hope they do not remove the few remaining nearby
Cherry trees.
April 6-8: Mama and Papa continue their nesting duties, everything appears fine at the nest.
April 9: Mama appears to be adjusting herself a bit more in the nest bowl today and sitting a bit higher than normal.
April 10: Mama continues to adjust herself more frequently in the nest bowl and sitting a bit higher than normal. Mama and
Papa spent more time together at the nest as well, at least fifteen minutes on one nest swap. They also appeared to be
looking at the nest bowl on occasion.
April 11: EXCITING NEWS TODAY, A CONFIRMED HATCH - We received confirmation this morning about 10:30am est.
from a grandma and her granddaughter Christine residing in South Jersey that there is a confirmed hatch in Mama and
Papa’s nest. Christine and her grandma have been faithful viewers of Mama, Papa and the Hawkcam for many years. So
far there is one tiny Red-tailed Hawk baby in the nest, many thanks for their keen observation this morning. Mama has
been feeding her newborn approximately every hour. Late in the day it appears there is a rat or small Squirrel in the nest
that Mama has been sharing with her little one that most likely hatched in the last 24 to 48 hours.
April 12: MORE EXCITING NEWS TODAY, A SIBLING - Today around five pm Mama was finishing feeding her youngster
when at the last second and just prior to Mama settling back down in the nest I spotted what appeared to be a second little
head. I am attaching this new image taken today (Left) next to the one below from yesterday (Right). I just received
confirmation from Bobby that the two siblings were observed in the nest sitting together earlier in the day.
Photo of the first born taken 4/11/12 5:45pm
Photo of the two eyasses in the nest taken 4/12/12 4:52pm
April 13-14: Mama has been very diligent feeding her babies and shading them from the early morning sun. Papa brings
food regularly and checks on his family often. The two parents have been on the nest together a number of times the last
two days. They have added more nesting materials and pine branches. The two eyasses have been very attentive taking
food and both seem to be getting an equal share. Late afternoon yesterday Mama fed her youngsters a rat, with all the rat
poison in the area this is always a concern to see, everything appears fine for now. You can now follow us on the Twitter
link located at the upper left of the page.
April 15-16: Mama continues to provide shade for her youngsters in the morning hours as the nest is full sunlight until
11am. The days have been getting warmer, daytime temperatures getting into the mid 60's and today into the 70's. Mama
looked a bit under the weather today and we observed her carefully throughout the day. Papa delivered some food in the
afternoon but did not stay very long. You can now follow us on Twitter, the link is located at the upper left of the page.
April 17:  Mama looks better today, more alert and active (see April 15-16 post). I made my first visit to the nest site today
and took some high resolution images of Mama and her babies. I will be creating new photo galleries soon to post images
from the Hawkcam and my field photography. Papa checked in on his family a couple times today. Mama continues to feed
her youngsters often, you can clearly see their small crops bulging with food after about ten minutes of feeding. Today they
shared a rat for a meal, once again this is very concerning as I have discussed in prior posts about the large quantities of
rat poison within the area. The Van Wyck Expressway expansion project is the main source of the many rat bait stations
distributed in their territory. I contacted New York State Senator Tony Avella a couple of weeks ago regarding the rat
poison situation locally to Mama and Papa's territory and their nest as well as the larger issue of rat poison throughout the
five boroughs that has been fatal to at least three of four Red-tailed Hawks in Manhattan recently. The forth Red-tailed
Hawk had high levels of rat poison in its system coupled with a separate medical condition, so a cause of death in that
particular case could not be confirmed. Senator Avella has agreed to work on this issue on our behalf and we are currently
waiting on a response to his inquiry on this topic. I will be posting updates regarding the rat poison project  as soon as I
receive information. I want to thank New York State Senator Tony Avella for taking on this important issue. You can now
follow us on Twitter, the link is located at the upper left of the page.
April 21: Sorry for the lack of updates, my Internet access has been down this week and is still not 100%. I hope to catch
up on posting new high resolution images this weekend taken at the nest of Mama and her babies this past week.
LINKS:
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April 22- April 30: Sorry for the lack of updates, I have had many issues with my Internet access not working well for an
extended period of time. You can now follow us on Twitter and Facebook, please see the links at the upper left of this
page. Mama, Papa and their family are doing well. The eyasses are now entering their third week of age. We would like
some input from our viewers on naming the two eyasses, so please email us your ideas. On most days Mama and Papa
have been bringing at least two rats to the nest for meals. We still have the Rodenticide issues in the area so this is still a
big concern. We are making progress on this topic locally with the help of Senator Avella and hope to report this progress
as soon as we have confirmation on the current discussions, stay tuned!
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