JKNatureGallery Wildlife and Nature Photography

July 1. A wonderful surprise today, when I checked the Hawkcam at 1:20pm, there sat one of our fledglings
visiting its nest. It was very difficult to determine which fledgling returned to the nest, however, it seemed that it
was the second fledgling. I had observed the Hawkcam for about 15 minutes when the young hawk stood up,
moved around and then took off for a fly. Hopefully we will have more visits back to the nest from time to time.
We were able to find both fledglings doing very well today. Mama and Papa were also around providing food
and a watchful eye. The second fledgling went dumpster diving today, tearing apart plastic bags and thankfully
not swallowing the plastic. She also seems to enjoy landing on parked cars and admiring herself in the
windshield. Early in the evening the second fledgling put on a spectacular display of soaring and diving
maneuvers on this breezy day. I have added photos from today to the Raptors gallery page 12 To see a photo
of the Urban Red-Tailed Hawk photography exhibit click here.

July 2. Both fledglings were very active expanding and exploring their territory Eastward. Later in the afternoon
both fledglings returned to their nest region for a meal. The second fledgling consumed a rat and the first
fledgling caught a squirrel for dinner. After capturing the squirrel the fledgling rested on a branch with its meal
and screeched a number of times before finding a safer location to eat. Mama circled overhead soaring with
ease. I did not see Papa today. I have added photos from today to the Raptors gallery page 12 and Raptors
gallery page 13 To see a photo of the Urban Red-Tailed Hawk photography exhibit click here.

July 3. I had very little time today to search for our hawk family. Early this evening I found both of them East of
the nest continuing to explore further from their nest area. The two fledglings were doing very well, the first
fledgling seemed to be settling down on a fire escape for the evening and the other was being chased by
Robins. Eventually it flew off in the direction of its sibling. Mama was in her favorite spot near her nest, I did not
see Papa today. I have added photos from today to the Raptors gallery page 13

July 4. I have archived the red-tailed hawk recent news for the month of June 2007. The archives can be
accessed off the main page using the red-tail hawk news archives link or click here for the red-tail hawk news
archives We took a very late walk to search for our hawk family this evening. It was already dark so I was not
able to take any photographs and we were only able to find Mama and one of her youngsters. It was very
difficult to determine which young hawk we found due to the darkness. Mama was settled in on her favorite spot
near her nest site for the night.

July 5. I have archived the red-tailed hawk recent news for the month of June 2007. The archives can be
accessed off the main page using the red-tail hawk news archives link or click here for the red-tail hawk news
archives I looked for many hours and walked many miles on this humid day for the fledglings. I could only
locate one of them, the second fledgling sitting on top of a 6 story roof eating a pigeon. It must have just
captured its meal as it was plucking the feathers off the pigeon and had a beak-full of feathers at one point.
The lighting was very harsh and activity was very low so I could not obtain a great variety of images. I did not
see Mama or Papa today. Hopefully tomorrow will be a better day. I have added a couple of new photos to the
Raptors photo gallery page 13

July 6. I spotted Papa briefly high on top of a apartment complex before he took flight and disappeared behind
the building. Searching for nearly three hours and walked many miles once again today I found the second
fledgling soaring above a series of apartment buildings far away from my vantage point. I attempted to catch up
hoping it would not fly very far off while I walked as fast as I could. Unfortunately, by the time I got to the area
the young hawk was last seen it was not visible and none of the other wildlife produced any warning calls to
help me locate the fledgling. My wife past through the area about 20 minutes after I had been there and she
observed Papa delivering a meal to the two fledglings. They became very excited and vocal by Papa's
presence, they flew under and over the trees, landed on fire escapes and eventually one of them received the
meal Papa delivered. The other fledgling flew off to wait for another chance. We did not see Mama today. I
have added a couple of new photos to the Raptors photo gallery page 13

July 7. Today was a much more active day with our hawk family. Both fledglings are doing very well. We have
decided to name the fledglings now that we understand their personalties and traits. The first fledgling we will
call Chief. He was the first to leave the nest, he is very determined and for a prolonged time had a single
feather standing straight up in the center of his head. The second fledgling we will call Ivy. She spent many a
day romping through the many areas of ivy plants looking for mice and playing with rocks and twigs on the
ground in and around the ivy. She was the first to significantly expand and cover new territory once out of the
nest much like ivy can take over an area if left unattended. We found Chief on a window sill today coughing up
a pellet. He was very active chasing squirrels and looking for mice in a pile of garbage bags. Ivy was resting in
a tall Oak tree for the afternoon, she then took flight soaring far and wide with Mama. Papa spent time on top of
a very tall apartment complex watching his territory. The parents were delivering food to their young in the early
evening as we left for the day. I have added new photos to the Raptors photo gallery page 13

July 8. A very hot day and our hawk family kept a low profile. We looked for many hours and caught only a brief
glimpse from a great distance on separate occasions of Mama and one of the fledglings soaring low over the
apartment buildings. By the time we got into the area we spotted them they were long gone. So I was not able
to get any new photos today. I have posted some additional images from 7/7 to the Raptors photo gallery page
13

July 9. Another very hot day and our hawk family once again kept a low profile. Early this evening Chief flew
over head and landed on a nearby roof. A short while after Papa caught a rat and landed on a Oak tree not far
away from Chief. The rat was still alive for a very brief time. Papa left the area for about ten minutes with the
rat, upon his return he delivered the rat to Chief. Mama sat on top of an antenna a good distance away on
apartment building roof. I did not see Ivy today. I have posted new photos to the Raptors photo gallery page 1 4

July 10. Once again a very hot and humid day made it difficult to find our hawk family. Early this evening I found
Chief near his nest sitting on a security lamp. I was not able to find the rest of the family. Unfortunately the
weather also prevented me from taking any new images this evening as it became very overcast and dark
earlier than normal. Hopefully, tomorrow will be better. Images from prior days can be viewed in the Raptors
photo gallery page 1 4 and via the Raptors Gallery contents page.

July 11. I could not find our hawk family this afternoon as they were probably staying out of the heat once
again. Later this afternoon into the evening a heavy rain storm rolled through the area so I was unable to
capture any new images today. I will try again tomorrow as the weather is forecast to be much better. Images
from prior days can be viewed in the Raptors photo gallery page 1 4 and via the Raptors Gallery contents page.

July 12. Today was a wonderful day observing our hawk family enjoy the nice weather. They were all soaring
together this afternoon. We were missing Chief, I'm sure he was also enjoying the cooler weather someplace
nearby. I captured a couple images with Ivy together with Mama and then later with Papa. You can clearly see
Papa is smaller than Ivy and Mama. Ivy had a meal on top of an extremely tall building about 30 stories up. I
have added photos to the Raptors photo gallery page 1 4

July 13. The entire hawk family was together this afternoon. Mama, Papa and Ivy were far off or very high up on
buildings making it very difficult to get nice images of them. Chief provided for all the photography as he
chased squirrels for a meal in nearby shrubs, parking lots and around trees. The light was very harsh late this
afternoon so photography was difficult in many of the areas that Chief frequented. I have added photos to the
Raptors photo gallery page 1 4

July 15. After much searching we found Chief and Ivy South East of their nest location early this evening. Chief
was being harassed by a Robin moved four times before settling in to a nice quiet Oak tree. Ivy was flying
around looking for a meal. She was being harassed by a Mockingbird. It became overcast and dark in the area
that our fledglings were so I could not get anymore images for the day. We did not see Mama or Papa. I have
added photos to the Raptors Gallery page 14

July 16. Both fledglings enjoyed a very active day today. Ivy caught and consumed a Pigeon late this afternoon.
Afterward she rested for a long time in a shady tree. Eventually Ivy moved to an Oak tree a couple hundred
yards away only to be discovered by Mockingbirds and Robins that started to harass Ivy. She moved many
times only to be followed with continual harassment. Chief spent a good portion of the afternoon chasing
Pigeons and Squirrels. Eventually after nearly two hours Chief caught and consumed a Squirrel. I have added
photos to the Raptors Gallery page 14 and p age 15 We did not see Mama or Papa today.

July 17. All of the new images today are of the Chief. He spent a good time preening and stretching his wings
today while Robins harassed him. Eventually he moved to a different tree and a mild attempt at catching a
Squirrel. The Robins followed him and continued to harass him. After more than an hour being patient with the
Robins Chief left the area. While we were on are way home for the day we noticed Ivy soaring very high in the
sky and one of the parent hawks was soaring even higher. It was difficult to determine which parent it was due
to the extreme hight, we believe it was Mama. I have added photos to the Raptors Gallery p age 15

July 20. After searching for hours we only found Chief today. He had just attempted to catch a Squirrel on the
ground. After missing he flew up to a nearby tree branch to rest. He then spotted another Squirrel about 300
yards away. He took off and did not catch that Squirrel either, Chief walked on the ground looking in the shrub
that the Squirrel used for cover. Eventually Chief flew off to another tree and we left for the day. I have added
new images to the Raptor photo gallery page 15.

July 21. We were not able to spend significant time searching for our hawk family today. We did see Papa late
this morning soaring overhead. We heard a report that one of the fledglings was hunting Squirrels in a local
parking lot early this morning. When we were in that area early this afternoon for a half hour none of the hawks
were present. I was not able to obtain any new images today of our hawk family, hopefully tomorrow will be
better.

July 22. After many hours of searching today we spotted Papa briefly soaring very high in the sky late this
morning. In the late afternoon for only a few seconds we observed one of the fledglings in a very fast stoop. It
was impossible to determine which fledgling we had seen. We attempted to track the youngster but it was
moving from one location to the next before we could catch up and soon it was out of sight. Our fledglings have
greatly expanded their territory the last two weeks. Unfortunately, I was not able to obtain any new images
today of our hawk family. i will continue to try to locate and photograph them as regularly as possible.

July 24. We observed Mama, Papa and Ivy this afternoon. Mama had a small bird in her talons as she soared
overhead. We were not able to see if Mama ate or handed it off to one of the fledglings. Ivy was not the
recipient of the small bird and we could not find Chief. The three hawks spent most of the late afternoon
soaring, at one point Ivy landed in a tree only to be harassed by Mockingbirds so she did not stay more than a
few minutes. I have added new images to the Raptors photo gallery page 15

July 25. Late this afternoon my wife observed Mama and the two fledglings, Chief and Ivy soaring about 1/2
mile East of their nest site. They stayed in the area for about an hour and then headed to the West very high in
the sky. When I arrived the hawks were not around, we waited in the hope that they would return as they
normally do. When this did not happen we searched in the area near their nest site but they were not there
either. It started to get dark for photography so we left the area with no new images of our hawk family today.

July 27. My wife observed our hawk family using the Eastern most section of their territory this afternoon. Chief,
Mama and Ivy soared in the Eastern and South Eastern sections for most of the afternoon. On a brief occasion
Chief and Mama separately flew over the central section but returned quickly to the Eastern sections once
again. No hunting was observed. I was not able to get out before it became dark, so unfortunately I don't have
any new images for today.

July 28. We attended the 29th annual Thunderbird Native American Indian Powwow at the Queens County
Farm Museum today. I will be posting images from this event in the next day or two. Unfortunately, we did not
get back in time from the powwow to search for our hawk family.

July 30. We were not able to locate our hawk family today although we did find signs that they were around
earlier in the day. Most likely they were settled in a nice cool spot to escape the heat and humidity of the day. I
have posted images from the 29th annual 2007 Thunderbird Native American Indian Powwow at the Queens
County Farm Museum. The images can be accessed via the Photo Gallery contents page, click here

July 31. I searched for our hawk family for many hours finding signs that they were around earlier in the day. I
did observe a brief glimpse of Papa sitting on top of a tall office building early this evening on my way home.
Earlier in the afternoon on a separate walk my wife spotted Ivy hunting Pigeons. On a couple of occasions Ivy
made a fast stoop into trees for a meal. It was not possible to determine if Ivy made a catch. I have posted
images from the 29th annual 2007 Thunderbird Native American Indian Powwow held at the Queens County
Farm Museum this past weekend. The images can be accessed via the Photo Gallery contents page, click here