Ravine nest

I cut across the park today on my way to an appointment. I stopped briefly on Payne Hill to check the hawk nest. Nobody was home.

On my way back through the park I spotted a Red-tailed Hawk feather caught on a branch in the Midwood. It was below a tuliptree where Big Mama and Split-tail frequently perch. The wispy plumes at the base of the shaft were wrapped around and tangled on a bud at the end of the branch. It looked so perfect that I just took a photograph and left it.

Trapped hawk feather

(Photo credit - Rob J)

The Ravine red-tailed pair seems to be ahead of Big Mama and Split-tail. I assume that they have begun incubating eggs as the female remained seated on the nest for the ten minutes that I watched.

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Prospect Park, 3/17/2005
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Mallard (4, Lower Pool.)
Ring-necked Duck (3, Lower Pool.)
Bufflehead (Upper Pool.)
Red-tailed Hawk (1, sitting on Ravine nest.)
Red-bellied Woodpecker (Payne Hill.)
Downy Woodpecker (Payne Hill.)
Hairy Woodpecker (Payne Hill.)
Northern Flicker (Payne Hill.)
Tufted Titmouse (Payne Hill.)
White-breasted Nuthatch (2, Payne Hill.)
American Robin
European Starling
Northern Cardinal
Dark-eyed Junco (10, Litchfield Villa.)
Common Grackle (12, near Carousel.)
American Goldfinch (~20, Payne Hill.)
House Sparrow