One More Red-tailed Hawk

A quick run to the red-tailed nests in Prospect Park revealed a pleasant surprise.

At Nelly's Lawn, Max & Nelly were keeping a close eye on their triplets from a favorite perch in Elizabeth's Tuliptree. The three young hawks in the pine tree nest have grown amazing fast. When Nelly flew into the nest to check up on them, they seemed to be nearly as tall as their mother. In another week they will be clambering about on the branches around the nest. By the second week of June, they should be taking their maiden flight.








Here is Nelly, checking in on her offspring. She only stayed for a couple of minutes, then rejoined her mate at the tuliptree.

This video was shot yesterday afternoon.

At my new viewing spot in the Ravine I was able to see a second chick in Alice & Ralph's nest. They are much younger than their neighbors in the northern end of the park. On a couple of occasions, I thought I saw another pair of wings flopping around at the far end of the nest, so it is possible that there are three. I watched the nest for 45 minutes, hoping to see one of the parents return to the nest. A dark shadow circled the woods a few times, drawing the attention of the small, fluffy chicks, but neither parent landed on the nest while I was present.