I watched the NYU nest cam this morning as the Washington Square Park Red-tailed Hawks Bobby and Sadie visited and tidied up their nest. I recorded the Hawks’ activity in the nest:
The first Hawk in the nest was Bobby followed by Sadie. Sadie is the Hawk you see fly out of the nest first.
I edited about an hour of footage to narrow down the action.
Mating season is nearly upon us. The Hawks will mate frequently until Sadie lays her eggs in mid to late March.
If all goes well, there should be between one and three eggs. They will be expected to hatch in late April/early May and the Hawk babies to leave the nest (fledge) for the first time in June.
The Hawks will visit the nest fairly regularly as they prepare it for next spring’s brood.
I loved watching Sadie tamp down the bowl of her nest …readying for the eventual egg laying process.
All I could think of was ,”there is snow to fly” ,before the eggs are laid, hatched and mature to fledglings.
Hope the winter is mild and the elements do not disturb the site ,until needed in March as HOME.
The cycle of nature is so marvelous in its predictable evolution.
Thanks, Roger_Paw, for the recording of our dear Hawks.
Before you know it, we will be counting eggs again, with fingers crossed for our dear hatchlings.
I know exactly what you mean. I find the regularity of their behavior comforting and positive. The nest has withstood a few blizzards so I’m not very worried if we have a harsh winter. I just hope such weather doesn’t curtail my Hawking too much. 🙂
Was it last year, Roger_Paw, that while Sadie was sitting on her eggs, the snow was coming down and Sadie remained on the nest ,covered in snow? It was enough to make you want to cry to see her so dutifully tending the eggs and yet, covered in the cold snow.
That was an amazing time, wasn’t it?
Here are a couple of posts documenting some of that situation last year:
https://rogerpaw.com/2017/03/two-eggs-in-washington-square-hawk-nest/
https://rogerpaw.com/2017/03/bobby-delivers-rat-to-nest-sadie-has/