NYC Nesting Raptors

Water St. Peregrines Grant's Tomb Hawks Riverside Church Peregrines St. John Hawks Good Luck to all the Nesters!

Under Pressure

As nesting season fast approaches, resident raptors have begun to cement their territory and begin work on their nests. Unfortunately, the two great area Churches (The Cathedral of St. John the Divine and Riverside Church), that have hosted both numerous successful nests throughout the years, are themselves are undergoing extensive renovations. Apparently the Churches suffer from numerous leaks and intrusive scaffolding now covers their exterior. In both cases, the repairs come very close to what are now active nests.



I watched both the male and female make sorties into the park, snipping off branches with their powerful beaks.

To date, I have not witnessed any copulation, and last years eggs were laid around March 14th. That still gives us a few weeks of time for the Cathedral to make their repairs. If anyone has a contact at the Cathedral, maybe we can petition for them to begin the work on that part of the Chapel.
Up on Riverside, the same problem exists.


Both species show a lot of tolerance for human activity, but we've seen it before in numerous cases, notably the 5th Ave. red-tailed hawks--Pale Male and Lola--but also in others, where human presence can disrupt nests. The GM peregrines are another notable situation where the installation of the spotlights for the new Apple Store disrupted the nesting peregines. All in all, New York City has many successfully nesting raptors that all have to contend with human interference at one time or another. Hopefully we can find a balance between the needs of our institutions and places of business and the rhythms of the natural world.

Home Again

This spring has seen a prodigious crop of nesting raptors in the city. Some birds, like the Highbridge Hawks and the Hawk of the Cathedral of St. John, have returned to their traditional nests. Other birds, like the Central Park South Pair, or the kestrels that nest in my area, have sought out new locations. Over the past few months, I have noticed that the resident pair of kestrels in my nabe have subtly changed their routines. Perching on different antenna, switching up the times they come and go. This weekend, I found the female located on a hidden antenna.

She was soon joined by the male, but then both flew off.
I relocated them a few blocks away where they were mating.

After finishing, the couple remained on the spot...

but the male was soon off!

He flew directly at me,

And latched onto a cornice overhead.

He then entered what appears to be the location of their new nesting scrape!

After a minute or two, he flew out again.

And rejoined the female.

Then it was her turn!


Where she stayed put. I then tracked the male for the next hour over the northern part of his range. He seemed to favor the area surrounding Trinity Cemetery. He would perch on surrounding buildings and make acrobatic forays at the groups of sparrows flitting about on the grounds. I watch him make a dramatic stoop then pull up a few feet off the ground, go almost vertical and land on this flag pole.

Pretty soon, though he was off again where I lost him over Broadway and 156th st.

I also checked up on the peregrines at Broadway Bridge. They seem to be getting along just fine, killing just about anything that happens across their territory. I watched them snag a wayward woodcock, as well as terrorize the local pigeons.



Over in Highbridge, the mama RTH still sits dutifully on the nest. An interesting note about this nest is its depth...I would estimate this to be a mature nest of at least a few seasons. I wonder how long its been in use?

In Riverside Park, I also found this nesting crow!

And late yesterday, the male kestrel snagged a sparrow in front of my window!