Wednesday, April 16, 2008

Full Bloom

It finally feels as if the cold, grey shroud of winter has lifted. Although some winter birds still remain, the first wave of spring migrants is in full swing. The hawks and peregrines are all well into brooding, and even the kestrels have begun mating and will soon brood too. This is a sample of some of the action!
Norman's reign of terror over Morningside continues!


He seems fond of starlings!



Finally caught my resident kestrels copulating on top of Wadleigh!

While downtown on Water St., I discovered another nesting kestrel pair while checking on the 55 Water peregrines. The male was nest raiding above the lunch time crowd!




And now a sampling of those migrants.
Palm Warbler

Phoebe

Wood thrush

White throated sparrow

Mocker

Titmouse

Bluejays chasing each other through the trees.

Brown Creeper

Golden Crowned Kinglet

Chipping sparrow

Doves, chippers and juncos

Pigeon carcass

Saturday, April 12, 2008

Stormin' Norman!

This new hawk is full of surprises. After seeing no sign of hawk all day, I finally caught the male on the scaffolding, above the nest!

I angled around,

just in time to see him dive off directly at a starling.

Easily missing, he circled around

and landed on the scaffolding next to the nest!
He then leapt home.






Later that day, I saw a Norman fly up to a nearby antenna with a pigeon he had just caught.

He flew around and displayed the kill, but Isolde did not go out to meet him. Instead, he flew north, beyond 125th St., parading his kill. I lost sight of him headed way uptown.

St. Bloggy!

Sunday, April 06, 2008

Spring Symphony

The chorus of birds throughout the City's Parks resounds with the song of renewal. Flowers are blooming, songbirds are nesting and the raptors are sitting on their precious eggs. The perfect timing of all this implies a hidden conductor, silently signaling each section, in a master concert! With its characteristic pauses and crescendos, the music spans the entire range from the tiniest wing beats of the bumble bees, to the massive conglomeration of a huge flock of starlings roosting at dusk. Here's a pictoral equivalent of this masterpiece.







The new male, hunting hard over Morningside for his potential brood!

The resident male kestrel, doing the same!


Isolde, taking a break from nest sitting, atop St. Luke's

Also saw this male kestrel hunting house finches above Barnard campus.

At the nest on CCNY, still cant see if the female is brooding, but the male is following the same pattern as their Cathedral neighbors. Here he is hunting hard over Hamilton Heights, crow in tow!

While the female kestrel on 155th takes a break from nesting duty.

This ragged juvy rth also flew over 155th, stooping on Jackie Robinson Park.


So many storylines, how will it all play out? Will the Cathedral pair be successful despite their troubles, or will they go the way of the Fenway pair? Will the new nest at CCNY be a success? Will the many kestrels nests produce another prodigious crop of fledglings?

Only the master conductor knows, and in due time He will tell us all if we listen carefully enough!