Fordham hawk update

I'll have a summary of Saturday's "birdathon" and some photos posted by today (promise). Until then, below is a report from Chris Lyons in the Bronx that I received last night. Also, if you haven't looked recently, check out the "hawkcam" (link to the right) as the chicks have gotten huge.

Date: May 14, 2007 10:31:14 PM EDT
Subject: Latest Fordham nest pictures

I didn't get to witness a feeding today (Monday), but both parents visited the nest between 4:30 and 5:30pm, and I made the most of the good light. Rose fiddled with sticks on the nest, Hawkeye seemed to preen one of the eyasses, but I couldn't really see any strictly utilitarian purpose for their visits, except to check up on the kids, and enjoy what seems to be the highly pleasurable stimulation of being in the presence of their offspring. With warm-blooded animals in general (at least those that actively rear their young), this is an indispensable part of the breeding process. It's the great motivator, the only way Nature has to compensate the parents for the dangers and discomforts that come with such a labor-intensive method of biological reproduction.

I saw one of the adults perched on a flagpole over by the Grand Concourse to the east, then fly off and rapidly go into a hunting stoop that took it down to Fordham Plaza in a few seconds. I remain convinced that the pair still consider the area they built a nest in back in 2004 to be part of their territory, which now seems so stretch from St. James Park and Creston Avenue to at least the western edge of the New York Botanical Garden, and who knows how far north and south of the Fordham Campus.  Seven stories up, with few tall buildings to block the way, it's easier to perceive the more expansive world they inhabit, where territory extends not only east, west, north and south, but also up for hundreds of feet.

I wonder how many other breeding adults Hawkeye and Rose can see in bordering territories, as they soar high over Collins Hall?

Rose and Hawkeye's family (click to enlarge)







(Photo credit - Christopher Lyons)