First stop today was the Southeastern corner of Central Park. The Plaza Male arrived at the Plaza Hotel from a couple of blocks west (along 59th Street).
Dropping down to the hotel:
Perched and facing north, overlooking Central Park:
He flew off and disappeared when he dropped down into park trees to his west.
I saw him perched on the Sherry-Netherland Hotel with another Hawk thirty five minutes later.
Plaza Male on the right:
One of the Hawks flew off and headed north up Fifth Avenue:
I could not tell who it was but it looked like Plaza Male who was in flight. I lost sight of him when he flew behind buildings at about 65th/66th Street and Fifth.
The other Hawk still seated:
I saw Pale Male as he was soaring about his territory (further up Fifth Avenue) fifteen minutes later:
I then saw a larger raptor than the Red-tails flying higher in the sky. I could not tell what it was (I looked in reference books but saw no bird that matched exactly). I suspect it’s a juvenile Bald Eagle but it’s not conclusive so I’ll just try to enjoy this as a mystery bird for now:
Bald Eagles had been seen by the Boat Pond a few weeks ago so it would not be so surprising if that’s what it was.
I took a photo of Pale Male’s nest from a better spot than yesterday but the bowl is so deep, I could not see what Hawk may have been incubating eggs:
I returned to Fifth Avenue to make my way back south to Grand Army Plaza. I did see who looked like Pale Male fly from the direction of the nest to the trees across the street but I never got a shot of the bird thanks to the foliage. Better luck next time.
Hawk on the Sherry-Netherland Hotel further down Fifth Avenue:
The Hawk was gone by the time I reached Grand Army Plaza.
I sat and ate a snack but did not see a Hawk again over the next half hour so I took the bus downtown to visit Rosie and Bobby at Washington Square Park.
What’s pretty great is you can take a downtown bus directly from Pale Male’s nest or Grand Army Plaza (Plaza Male’s domain) to a stop a couple of blocks north of Washington Square Park.
Marker A is Pale Male’s nest and B is WSP:
Rosie was a bit easy to see once I got to the park as she was out in the open:
It was nice to catch her during a nest break:
She landed on a new building after having ducked out of sight for four minutes:
She flew behind Two Fifth Avenue:
She circled around One Fifth Avenue as well and then flew east.
Flying behind Silver:
I waited and waited to see if she’d swing back around and fly to or near the nest but she returned to the nest without my seeing.
I did get to see an Osprey though as it soared above the park:
