JKNatureGallery.com
2007 Red-Tailed Hawk News
Archive May 1, 2007 - May 31, 2007
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May 1. At noon the nest was unattended and the babies were active. Mama fed her young at 2:30 and
Papa visited for a brief time. Mama stayed on the nest and groomed herself for a while. At 3:10 Mama fed
the smaller youngster again and left shortly after this feeding. Mama once again protected her young
from the heavy rain and was totally soaked. New photos have been added to page 7.
May 2. My time observing the nest today was limited. Mama fed her family at 2 and 7pm. The youngsters
were active in the late afternoon and the nest seemed to be left unattended a number of times today.
Mama was away from the nest around 7:20 and returned before 8pm and settled in for the night. I will
archive the April news tomorrow, it can be accessed via the archive contents page. I have posted New
photos from today to page 7.
May 3. Mama delivered a large piece of a paper bag to the nest at noon today. She struggled to place the
bag. Eventually she was satisfied with its position and she left the nest. While she was gone the two
youngsters got involved rearranging the paper bag. They had a tug of war at one point and finally placed
the bag near the back of the nest. Papa made numerous visits to the nest between noon and 1pm
bringing bark and branches to further improve the nest. He also made his mark on that paper bag placing
a branch over it to anchor the bag. I observed Mama feeding her family at 3 and 6:30. After the 6:30
feeding she removed the inedible portion of a rat or squirrel from the nest. Mama settled back into the
nest well after 7:15 tonight. New photos have been added to page 8 in the photo highlights. April news
has been archived, it can be accessed via the archive contents page.
May 4. Mama visited the nest briefly on a number of occasions between Noon and 1pm. At 1pm she
stayed on the nest for a half hour and the youngsters were very active during this time. During the
afternoon the youngsters were walking around in the nest and standing tall, flapping their wings and
otherwise looking very alert at their surroundings. I had observed Mama feeding her family at 6:30, she
left the nest after this feeding and returned just after 8pm. Checking the nest around 11:15 tonight Mama
is not with her family it is now 12:10AM. This is the first observation of Mama leaving her young
unattended in the nest at night for a longer duration, she has been observed leaving the nest after
midnight on occasion but always returned. We will watch to see if she returns tonight. OK, now 12:40am
it's time for a field trip to the nest site. As I was hoping we found Mama sleeping just fifteen feet to the
East of the nest just above the camera. This is the first time that Mama is spending the night off the nest,
three weeks and two days since her first egg hatched. New photos have been added to page 8 in the
photo highlights.
May 5. Mama seems to be leaving the nest unattended more frequently the last two days. However, she is
sitting only 15 feet away next to the nest. As she did late last night Mama spent a good portion of the day
sitting just above the camera keeping a close eye on her family. Papa also stayed in the area for long
periods of time. He also made some high speed hunting maneuvers to the West and also the East
sections of his territory this afternoon. I observed Mama feed her young at 4:15 this afternoon and then
remove and dump the inedible portion over some trees away from the nest. She spent some time on top
of an apartment complex before returning to the nest this evening. Tonight it seems that she will stay on
the nest with her young. New photos have been added to page 8 in the photo highlights.
May 6. We observed Mama and Papa today late in the afternoon. Papa kept an eye on a Peregrine
Falcon that harmlessly flew through his territory from East to South West. When the Falcon was gone
Papa checked in on his family. Papa enjoyed most of the late afternoon in flight. Mama spent most of the
day at the top of the building where her nest resides. I did not observe any feedings today. New photos
have been added to page 8 in the photo highlights.
May 7. Shortly after a brief visit from Papa at 10:40am Mama fed her family for over 30 minutes. After the
youngsters were fed Mama removed the inedible remains from the nest. For a good portion of the day the
nest was unattended. At 4:30pm Mama fed her family again for a similar duration. At 7pm Mama was
sitting on top of a tall office building about 1,000 feet West of the nest. Mama returned to the nest this
evening to spend the night with her young. New photos have been added to page 8 in the photo
highlights.
May 8.Mama appeared to be shielding her family from the bright sunlight that hits the nest early in the
morning. She fed her youngsters for about 35 minutes at 10:50am and then left the nest unattended. The
youngsters were very active walking around the nest and exercising their wings. Eventually they settled
down for a rest. The nest was unattended for long periods of time today. It seems the last couple days
that Mama is feeding her family greater quantity of food with longer durations between feedings. Mama is
not on the nest this evening. New photos have been added to page 9 in the photo highlights.
May 9.Mama is feeding her young fewer but for longer durations now. She feeds them in the morning and
late afternoon and early evening. I have not been able to view midday the last few days to confirm if there
is feeding in between these times. Mama is also leaving the youngsters unattended for long periods of
time, however, Mama or Papa is always nearby watching over them. They sit on local tall buildings, trees
or street lights very near the nest. The youngsters were very active again today testing their wings and
walking around their small nest. Mama fed her family at 10:30 and 7:15 today. Papa visited a couple times
for brief moments at the nest that I observed. Mama is not on the nest tonight. New photos have been
added to page 9 in the photo highlights.
I will be having a photo exhibit on our hawk family, The Urban Red-Tailed Hawk scheduled for early June
2007 at the Benjamin S. Rosenthal Library at Queens College, more information to be posted soon on
this event.
May 10. Unfortunately, we are experiencing a technical problem with the Hawkcam connecting to the
Internet. We are working to resolve the issue as quickly as possible, enjoy the photo highlights from today
on the photo highlights page 9. We are sorry for the inconvenience, please check back again soon, .
Mama was with her family on the nest this morning. She fed her youngsters around 9:30am. At 2:45 Papa
visited the nest and Mama joined her family shortly after Papa arrived. For 3 minutes the entire family was
together on the nest. Mama fed her youngsters and Papa left the nest. Once Mama finished feeding her
family she also left the nest. The youngsters were very active in the nest for half hour and then settled
down for a rest. Papa was back on the nest at 4:45pm and Mama was sitting on a chimney on a local
apartment building a couple hundred yards East of the nest. New photos have been added to page 9 in
the photo highlights.
May 11. Unfortunately, The Hawkcam is still off-line. We are working hard to get the Hawkcam back in
service. There are a number of folks to coordinate with on this project to resolve the issue. I had limited
time yesterday to check on the nest, all seemed normal during the time I checked our hawk family. Please
check back to see if the Hawkcam is back on-line.
May 12. All appeared normal at the nest site today. Mama was sitting on top of the building above her
nest and Papa was soaring very high in the sky above them. The Hawkcam is still off-line, I have an
appointment for early Monday morning to check all the equipment at the nest site.
May 13. Mama and Papa spent the couple of hours we were able to observe them enjoying the early
afternoon in flight. They were much farther away from the nest but well within range to protect their family.
One of the parents moved a Sea Gull away from the area when we first arrived to the nest site. At 1:45
Mama was flying low just below the roof line of the apartment buildings hunting pigeons. At this height it
appeared she was using the building to shield her approach as she blended into the backdrop of the
brick facade of the building. I had lost track of her from my vantage point as she dropped below the tree
line. Around 2:15 Mama visited the nest for a short time and then joined Papa on top of a very tall
apartment building in the area.
May 14. I was successful getting the Hawkcam back on-line this morning. The youngsters feathers have
substantially filled in the last few days and they themselves have grown some more. While I was at the
nest site I had checked the nest bowl. There was one egg that I was able to clearly see, it was open
across the long top side about one and a quarter inches in an oval shape. It was very difficult to
determine if it was the third egg or the egg remnants from one of the two youngsters. Mama was feeding
her family at 9:45am and the youngsters were also feeding themselves. It appeared the meal was a
starling. Once I was back home I checked the Hawkcam and Mama picked up the egg that I had seen
while on-site just moments before and she removed it from the nest. The youngsters were very active at
10:45 and 2pm for about 45 minutes. Mama visited the nest at 2pm for a half hour and then left. The
youngsters settled in for a rest during the afternoon and early evening. Mama is not on the nest tonight.
New photos have been added to page 9 in the photo highlights.
I will be having a photo exhibit on our hawk family, The Urban Red-Tailed Hawk: The Queens Experience,
scheduled to open the first week in June 2007 and run through the summer at the Benjamin S. Rosenthal
Library at Queens College, more information will be posted soon on this event.
May 15. Mama fed her young at 10:40am and stayed on the nest until 11:40. One of the youngsters
exercised its wings near the edge of the nest. Mama was on the nest early this afternoon a number of
times. When she left Mama stayed on top of the camera and her family looked on very curiously at Mama.
At 2:30 the youngsters rearranged some twigs in the nest. Papa delivered a mouse at 2:20 one of the
youngsters took the mouse for itself. Papa stayed about five minutes. Mama also came to the nest and for
a few minutes the entire family were together. Papa left and Mama shared the mouse with her youngsters.
Mama spent most of the rest of the afternoon on top of the camera next to her nest and Papa was flying
East of the nest high in the sky. New photos have been added to page 10
May 16. Papa stayed on the nest today around noon for about 30 minutes while the youngsters were
eating. One if the youngsters was very active in the nest and pushed Papa aside as it walked from the
rear of the nest forward, Papa didn't seem to mind. The youngsters were very active in the early
afternoon. Mama spent significant time sitting above the camera in the mid afternoon. The Hawkcam went
out of service after 3pm today. I have arranged to try and get the Hawkcam back in service Thursday
morning after 9am, please check back tomorrow. We checked on our hawk family after the very high
winds subsided late this afternoon, all seemed fine at the nest the youngsters were a bit wet. New photos
have been added to page 10
May 17. The Hawkcam is back on-line since about 10am this morning. Mama was sitting on the nest
shielding her family from the sun. Mama left once the sun was not hitting the nest anymore. The
youngsters were active for most of the day and they rested a few times in the late afternoon. Mama and
Papa visited the nest numerous times throughout the day. At 5:30 the Papa woke the youngsters when he
arrived at the nest, it seemed that they were looking for a meal. We did not see the youngsters eat this
evening although we may have missed it, however, it did seem that they may not have had a fresh meal
delivered tonight. New photos have been added to page 10
May 18. This morning was very overcast and Mama was not shielding her family from the sun as she
typically does each morning. The youngsters rested most of the morning, a sleepy day. At 3pm Mama
delivered a fresh branch with green leaves to the nest. Shortly after she returned to the nest with a baby
bird for the afternoon meal. The youngsters did not eat their meal at that time and took a nap instead. At
4:20pm the youngsters were awake and active with lots of preening and wing exercises. Mama visited
briefly around 5:20pm and the youngsters started to eat their meal on their own. At 7:50pm the
youngsters were very active again as Mama arrived at the nest and shortly after Papa delivered some
more food and stayed fifteen minutes. Mama is not on the nest this evening. New photos have been
added to page 10 including a photograph I call "angel wings" the explanation is under the photo.
May 19. Mama was not on the nest this morning. One of the youngsters was active around 11am and the
other resting. From about 1pm to 2pm both siblings were resting. Sometime between 2 and 2:30 one of
the parents delivered a Pigeon to the nest. At 2:30 the siblings were very active for over an hour. Mama
visited the nest and fed the Pigeon to her family around 2:30. Once again from 4 to 5pm the youngsters
were resting, it was that type of day. After 7pm the siblings were a bit wet, sitting up, looking around and
not very active as the rain continued to fall. Mama is not on the nest tonight and the youngsters appear to
be resting for the night. New photos have been added to page 11
May 20. Mama was feeding her family today at 11:30am when we took our first look at the Hawkcam and
the youngsters were very active through 12:15. They settled in for a rest after Mama took the remnants of
a Pigeon from the nest. At 2:20 one of the youngsters was very active as the other rested. The
youngsters were resting again in the early evening. We were not able to observe our hawk family in the
mid afternoon. Mama is not on the nest once again tonight. New photos have been added to page 11
May 21. Mama was not on the nest at 10am shielding her young from the sun today. The youngsters
seemed a bit warm as they were panting and turning their backs to the sun. At 11am the youngsters were
resting. It seemed that both Mama and Papa spent much more time away from the nest today. We
observed the parents flying in the central section of their territory together in the early afternoon, one
parent went back toward the nest and the other went NE. I did notice a fresh branch was added to the
nest at some point this afternoon. When I was able to observe the nest today the youngsters were resting
most of the time and. I did had not observed any feedings today. Mama is not on the nest tonight. New
photos have been added to page 11
May 22. Mama shielded her family from the early morning sun today. At 11:30am the youngsters were
resting for a while. After 1:30pm one of the siblings was very active flapping its wings and moving about
the nest. The other did not seem to mind all the activity as it continued to rest. I was not able to observe
the mid afternoon activity today. At 7PM both youngsters were very active exercising their wings and
rearranging the nest materials to their liking. They were also interested in something flying above the nest
as they kept an eye on the movements that caught their interest, probably one of the parents. At one
point one of the youngsters flew/jumped in the air over the other sibling toward the wall of the building, an
exciting moment. Mama is not on the nest tonight. New photos have been added to page 11
May 23. The youngsters were resting late this morning when Papa delivered a fresh branch to his nest,
he stayed for a few minutes and then left. The youngsters became active for 20 minutes and settled back
down. Mama visited at 1:45 for a brief moment to check on her family. The youngsters were very active at
this time. They were playing with the leaves from the new branch and rearranging nest materials. One of
the siblings fed itself as the other watched. They were both active again from 7:45 through 8:10 when
they settled back down again. Mama is not on the nest tonight. When our youngsters are ready to leave
the nest I will be in the field as much as possible with my camera gear to photograph them as much as
possible and keep an eye on them as they enter and adapt to our world. I will post high quality
photographs of our young hawk friends so we can continue to share their experiences. I will continue to
update the recent news and photographs on the youngsters through the end of the summer, as long as
they stay around, so we can watch them develop their skills and mature. New photos have been added
to page 11
May 24. Late this morning one of the youngsters was sitting up and the other resting. Both were active
after noon preening themselves. 1:15pm the siblings were feeding on a pigeon that appeared to have
been delivered much earlier. In the early evening the youngsters were very active in the nest. One of
them flapped its wings and obtained such lift only its talons were visible in the camera view. Thank
goodness it landed safely near the brick wall of the building. I have posted this photograph with New
photos have been added to page 12
May 25. Mama was on the nest this morning providing as much shade to her family as possible. Once the
shade arrived Mama shared food with her youngsters, then left around 11:30am. Papa delivered a pigeon
around 11:40, the siblings were up but not overly active as today was one of the warmer days lately.
Around Noon they started preening themselves. At 1:15pm Papa returned to the nest and had a meal,
when he left at 1:30 the youngsters started eating. Throughout the afternoon the siblings took turns
eating and resting. At 7:20 they became much more active for about 45 minutes, flapping their wings,
moving around the nest and eating. They even played with the left over wing of a pigeon. Mama returned
to the nest and removed an uneaten rat from the nest, it looked fresh, I assume she consumed it herself
nearby. New photos have been added to page 12
May 26. Similar to yesterday Mama shielded her young this morning and once the shade appeared Mama
and her family shared a meal together. Mama left the nest at 11:40am and her youngsters were very
active. At 1:20pm Mama and the siblings shared another meal together for 20 minutes. At 2pm Papa
delivered what looked to be a chipmunk to the nest and at 2:15 Mama delivered a fresh branch with
flowers in bloom. Shortly after one of the youngsters ate again. At 2:20 there was a good deal of flapping
and moving around the nest. In the later afternoon the activity slowed and the two youngsters were
standing keeping an eye on things. Later this evening they are resting and Mama is not on the nest. New
photos have been added to page 12
May 27. Mama was shielding her young and sharing a meal this morning once again. At 11:45am Mama
left the nest and her youngsters continued to eat. At 1pm one of the siblings was eating and the other
was just standing around watching. Mama delivered more food around 3pm, it is wonderful to watch how
polite the siblings have been all these weeks waiting their turns to eat. I have never observed any discord
between the siblings or with their parents. Between 2 and 4pm the youngsters were active taking turns
flapping their wings and moving around the nest. Unfortunately, sometime between 5:30 and 6:30 the
Hawkcam went out of service. Just prior to the camera going out of service the two siblings were laying
down resting in the nest. I tried to contact someone to see if I could correct the issue but we will have to
wait for tomorrow to see if we can resolve the problem with the Hawkcam. New photos have been added
to page 12
May 28. Unfortunately we could not get access to the Hawkcam to resolve the technical issue due to
Holiday schedules. I will be arranging to correct the problem tomorrow morning. All was fine at the nest
today. The youngsters were very active, flapping their wings often. Mama was sitting on top of the building
at one point watching her young and at another point she sat a few hundred yards away on an apartment
building antenna with a view of her family.
May 29. We were able to restore the Hawkcam this morning, unfortunately early this evening it went
off-line once again. I will work to resolve the issue Wednesday morning as quickly as possible. Mama was
shielding her family this morning and did not leave until the nest was mostly in the shade at about
11:05am. At 1:45pm one of the youngsters was resting, the other actively flapping and moving around the
nest. The youngsters were active today, they seem to be getting more restless as Mama and Papa leave
the nest each time. One can sense they are getting really close to flying out themselves. New photos
have been added to page 13
May 30. We restored the Hawkcam a couple times today, unfortunately it went off-line once again.
Thursday morning we will attempt one more change to the configuration that should help keep it on-line.
Today Mama was once again shielding her young in the morning. All was normal at the nest this
afternoon. Both youngsters were sitting calmly at the front of the nest. Mama was sitting on top of the
building watching over her nest. New photos have been added to page 13
May 31. Unfortunately we are still having some technical issues, the router is acting up and I hope to
correct the problem Friday morning, if it can be resolved. Today was an exciting day, the youngsters are
now seven weeks old and one of them fledged the nest between 11:45am and 12:10pm. We spent the
entire afternoon and early evening searching the surrounding areas of the facility and didn't find the
fledgling. Even though the roof of the building and interior property was searched by the wonderful and
dedicated folks at the facility the nest is located. My feeling is that it is up on the roof someplace based on
observing Mama and Papa. They spent the afternoon watching the roof from the highest of vantage
points in the area. They were also very relaxed, so they must know more then we do at the moment. The
other sibling was very restless being alone for the first time. It was flapping its wings relentlessly at times. I
would not be surprised it leaves the nest Friday or Saturday at the latest. We will continue to search for
the fledgling and report on developments. I did not observe any feedings today at the nest as of 7pm.
Both parents were in the immediate area of the nest when we left. New photos have been added to page
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