Monday, March 24, 2014

Is Mom a Cougar?

Sad as we are over the loss of T2, the onward, inevitable cycle of nature means that events are moving fast for Mom. References to Cougar Town and The Bachelor seem appropriate with the appearance of not one, but two young - very young - hawks in her territory.

The first one - let's call him T3A - is an immature. His brown barred tail, and light golden eyes distinguish him from a mature adult which has a red tail and dark eyes.

            Dinko Mitic

Dinko described him thus: "He's young. He's fast. He flies circles around Mom. He's already at home in her territory. He was flying around the Barnes Museum, the Free Library, and the Franklin Institute. Then Mom emerged from somewhere around the Rodin Museum and he went after her. They flew in close circles, I heard them both screech, then they flew together towards the football field on 24th and Parkway."


            Dinko Mitic


            Dinko Mitic


Dinko also captured this exciting dive from T3A.

                                      Dinko Mitic


A closer view of T3A shows that his feathers look pretty beaten up on the ends.

            Dinko Mitic


His tail is tattered, and if you double-click on the image to enlarge it, you can clearly see the pale golden eyes indicating his youth.

                                      Dinko Mitic


He perhaps cemented his Bachelor #1 status by perching on the Franklin Institute - an excellent career move.

            Dinko Mitic


I asked John Blakeman his thoughts on Bachelor #1, and he responded, "This bird is an immature, hatched (somewhere) last spring. It has ragged feathers, from a tough winter. But it's flying around OK. Too young to be a good mating prospect."

Then we have Bachelor #2 - T3B - who appears to be equally young, but whose feathers are in much better condition. T3B appeared in the territory Sunday afternoon.

                  Kevin Vaughan


Carolyn Sutton wrote this exciting account about the bachelor sightings when she, Dinko, and Kevin were out on the Parkway on Saturday.

"We followed the red tail pas de deux along the Parkway. We found Mom in the ball field trees. She was watching her 'friend' soaring high above around the western part of her territory. He soon headed east along the expressway, disappeared briefly until reappearing over the Barnes. We thought we'd lost him but Mom showed us the way. She flew from her tree, circled awhile, then returned to another tree at the end of the field. We discovered both hawks together and watched them follow each other from perch to perch, then take off one after the other back toward Logan Circle. Walk, walk, walk. Voila, there was Mom atop the library with another hawk flying circles above her.
More intrigue. As Mom sat contentedly at the library, Kevin and I watched the high flying juvie exploring the east area of Mom's territory. We were happy to see him return to Logan Circle, BUT….. Sherry [a hawk fan who had joined the group] thought she spotted another hawk flying in from the east. Guess what? She was right. Two unidentified hawks were now showing off for Mom."

Kevin captured one of the suitors perched, watching Mom.

               Kevin Vaughan


And she was watching them!

                            Kevin Vaughan


              Kevin Vaughan


Mom continues to stay close the Franklin Institute, spending time in her favorite tree right across from the nest.

            Kevin Vaughan


She was there on Saturday morning, then took off for the Barnes trees where she sat briefly before heading to Family Court. 

            Kevin Vaughan


After an aborted hunting run at small bird nests behind the Library's protective netting, she repositioned herself for bigger things, and dove straight down from the roof to grab a pigeon on the ground. So lethal and quick was she that neither Kevin nor Carolyn could focus and click to capture the moment. She took off with her prize, finally settling in a pine tree at 18th and Vine to devour her breakfast.

            Carolyn Sutton

Because it now it seems possible that Mom may find a new mate to join her in this nesting season, there are lots of questions about whether she needs to copulate with one of the new suitors to lay eggs, or whether she is currently "eggnant" by T2, and can lay those eggs.

So I turned to John Blakeman, the source of so much hawk knowledge and biology for some answers.


Q) Is it still possible for Mom to lay T2's eggs?

A) Copulation occurred frequently, so the mother’s fallopian tube (has just one) may be loaded with viable sperm, and she may have an egg or two descending her fallopian tube right now. Still, there needs to be a new attending mate. Whether he would, at this late date, copulate, is unknown. It may not be necessary, with a residuum of the former mate’s sperm residing in the fallopian tube.



Q) Why are these new hawks showing up so soon after the loss of T2?

A)  This is the height of the migration, and some floating (unmated) tiercel haggards (adults) will note the absence of a resident tiercel haggard and take up mating (social pair bonding) and perhaps copulation rather promptly — as happened before {when T2 arrived].

Q) What happens if Mom doesn't find a nest site or return immediately to the Franklin Institute nest?

Any eggs yet unlaid may be “dumped”  - laid and then forgotten - while tending to more cogent survival matters, such as hunting and feeding. At the best, no nesting or egg laying would occur in the next week. But if the formel re-orients herself to the former nest, and a new tiercel shows up, there is a good chance she can re-cycle or “double-clutch,” physiologically and psychologically re-starting the entire reproductive process, with eggs laid in April.
But, sadly, there is a significant chance that none of what I’ve suggested can get done in time, and no nesting may occur this spring. Still, there would be the hope that the formel will simply take a year’s reproductive sabbatical and remain in the territory. This would set things up well for next year at the FI ledge.
*          *          *          *          *

So it looks as if Mom has many options, and only she can make the next move.

            Kevin Vaughan


How wonderful it would be if this magnificent hawk returns to her nest at the Franklin Institute.

            Carolyn Sutton


Stay tuned, as there will undoubtedly be new developments in the coming days!  

Many, many thanks to Dinko, Kevin and Carolyn for allowing me to use their wonderful images, and to John Blakeman for sharing his hawk knowledge.


Saturday, March 22, 2014

T2 is gone....

We heard the saddest news today. Earlier this week, Amtrak workers in the train yards near 30th Street station found a dead hawk on the tracks. Because T2 has not been seen since last Sunday, it seems highly likely that this hawk was T2. 

It is easy to imagine that he was on a fast hunting run, eyes totally focused on his prey, flying low over the tracks just as a train was coming. This is how Dad was hit by a truck two years ago on the 30th Street off-ramp.

These are the last two pictures of we have of T2.  They were taken by Dinko Mitic last Sunday, March 16.

           Dinko Mitic


As T2 prepares to launch, we can see his broken left wing feathers which now will never be replaced.

                                        Dinko Mitic


T2 will always be remembered as the young hero hawk who unexpectedly showed up soon after Dad's (the original Franklin Institute tiercel) death left Mom alone on the nest with three newly hatched eyasses. She allowed T2 to bring desperately needed food to the nest, to feed the eyasses, and to help her raise the baby hawks all the way through to a successful fledging for all three. It is possible that he made red-tail hawk history as this appeared to be the first time that a "step-tiercel" had raised another hawk's offspring, and that a formel had allowed a strange hawk to join her in a parental role when they were not a mated pair.

Last year, we were excited to see that Mom and T2 remained together, and T2 raised his own offspring through to successful fledging. Then came the sadness of losing two of those juveniles to window strikes, leaving Peanut alone to be T2's legacy, along with Dad's last three eyasses that T2 helped Mom raise. T2 was truly a hawk hero.

So now Mom is once again on her own. We don't know if she has laid any eggs yet on the lights platform, but it seems unlikely because the pile of sticks there does not appear to be a finished nest, and she has not returned there this week.

On Thursday, March 20, Dinko captured this new hawk flying quite a bit higher than Mom. She definitely saw it, and they both disappeared over toward the ball field.

           Dinko Mitic

On Friday, March 21, Kevin captured this juvenile hawk flying in the territory.  Its brown striped tail clearly marks it as a juvenile.  Is this the same hawk as yesterday?

                              Kevin Vaughan

It is all too easy to anthropomorphize and believe that she is looking for T2. 

                                        Carolyn Sutton

She knows she needs a mate if she is to lay eggs, incubate and hatch them.  Is she actively checking out these "floater" hawks that are appearing?

           Kevin Vaughan

We do know that she seems to have lost interest in that lights platform now that T2 has gone. 

She spent most of yesterday, March 21, in the immediate vicinity of the Franklin Institute.  Chris Ryan watched her for several hours, and observed her sitting on the former Board of Education building right next to the Franklin Institute.

           Chris Ryan


           Chris Ryan


She then took off, and flew directly to...

           Chris Ryan


... the Franklin Institute! 

           Chris Ryan


Finally, she flew over to her favorite trees across the Vine Street Expressway facing the nest.

           Chris Ryan


Mom sat in those trees across from Franklin Institute for over an hour. 

With the loss of her mate who had drawn her to the less familiar areas near the train yards, is she perhaps reconnecting with the territory that is so familiar to her?  Will she draw another young tiercel to join her and introduce him to the Franklin Institute nest as she did with T2?  

I have so many wonderful memories of T2, but perhaps my favorite is that miraculous morning when he flew onto the Franklin Institute nest for the first time, carrying his food offering of a small vole, and closely escorted by Mom.

           Franklin Institute


           Franklin Institute
          

Nothing has felt settled with the hawks this spring from the moment they headed over to that lights tower platform, but I don't think any one envisioned the events of this past week, ending with the loss of T2 and even more uncertainty for Mom.

Sunday, March 16, 2014

Curiouser and curiouser

What are the Franklin Institute hawks up to?  And where are they going to build their nest?  We are no further along this week in understanding whether they will return to their old nest on the window ledge, or whether they really are going to take up a new nesting spot on the Amtrak lights tower.

The bad news is that while they spend time on and around the Franklin Institute, they have not been observed taking any interest in the nest there.  The good news is that their interest in the tower seems desultory and random -which is good, given its hostile setting for fledging eyasses.

            Carolyn Sutton

The tower is the T-shaped object to the right of the red-topped PECO building.

Adding to the confusion was the appearance this week of a third red-tail hawk.  The intruder showed up on March 13.

            Dinko Mitic


It looked very like Mom until one noticed the broken feather at the end of the left wing.  T2 has a similar broken feather (sustained back in December), but his chin and chest are clearly paler.

            Dinko Mitic


There was lots of circling by Mom and T2 and high-speed chasing of the intruder who flew into a tree near the Franklin Institute. Its chin is much paler than Mom's though it has similar chest streaks.


            Dinko Mitic


While the intruder was sitting in the tree, Dinko photographed Mom as she circled in the sky above. Her dark chin is clear, as well as her unbroken wing feathers.

            Dinko Mitic


It was a windy day, and the intruder experienced a sudden updraft!

                                        Dinko Mitic


The intruder flew off across the Ben Franklin Parkway towards the Rodin Museum, and T2 was seen following.  Another excitement last week was when Mom spied an empty nest in a tree.

                   Kevin Vaughan


She launched and grabbed at it with her talons...

                   Kevin Vaughan


                      Kevin Vaughan


... then flew across the front of the Art Museum with the nest trailing behind her.

           Kevin Vaughan


           Kevin Vaughan


Finally, this week a juvenile bald eagle came flying through our hawks' territory.  Dinko captured the eagle flying close to the Art Museum.

            Dinko Mitic

                                       Dinko Mitic


The Art Museum remains a favorite perching spot for the hawks, and Carolyn Sutton, Kevin Vaughan and Dinko Mitic have captured some gorgeous pictures of them consorting with the gryphons and sculptures that top the roof.

Here's Mom:

            Carolyn Sutton


              Kevin Vaughan


                                      Dinko Mitic


                                        Dinko Mitic


Here's T2 making a graceful landing.

                                       Dinko Mitic


With so many questions about what is going on with the hawks this spring, I decided to check in with John Blakeman to see what answers he might have, and he kindly provided the following perspectives:


Q)  Is it still possible the hawks will return the old nest at the Franklin Institute?

A)  There is still an outside chance that residence will be taken once again at the FI nest ledge --- but red-tails are famous for doing just this - electing for no good reason to build and use a new nest not far from the previous nest.  I hope the FI pair decide to return. But that is now in real question. The next week or two will tell.


Q)  Why might the hawks do this?  Is the recent brutally cold winter a factor?

A)  Weather or past experiences probably play little or no roles. Instead, I think it's just the nature of red-tail pair bonding. The building of a new nest by the pair is not unlike a young human couple moving into a desired new house or apartment. The whole endeavor strengthens the pair bond, sense of territoriality, and all the other social accoutrements of red-tail pairing. All of this results in stronger nesting and parenting behaviors.


Q)  Why would they pick that Amtrak lights tower?

A)  One factor that might be at play, one that I've been concerned about, is the low elevation of the FI nest. It's simply not very high, compared to adjacent or nearby nest support structures. Red-tails seem to prefer higher nest sites. They can see things better up there; eyasses can fledge more easily (lots of glide time before hitting the ground), and the nest is more easily watched by the non-sitting haggard. I think this is why Pale Male has had such fidelity with the present and historic Central Park nest. It's twice or three times as high as the Central Park trees.


Q)  What is the significance of this week's intruder hawk?

A)  The haggard interloper was a migrating floater (unmated hawk), attempting to mate (not copulate). Very natural and normal in March. The same thing was seen at the Cornell nest, where a haggard floater actually went to the nest with a sitting resident formel, perhaps on an egg. Nothing good or bad will happen from these threesomes. Short incidental things.


Q)  Is it possible that even though Mom and T2 have frequently copulated this spring, they will not get it together to build a good nest and lay eggs?

A)  Nest building is a profoundly enjoyable activity of mated pairs. They are not going to forego that cavalierly. I think virtually all copulating red-tail pairs will nest, and most often have eggs. If not, there is some underlying medical condition preventing ovulation and egg formation --- which by itself would have probably stopped copulation.


Q)  And a check-in about T2's broken wing feathers on his left wing - will this be a problem for him in any way?

            Dinko Mitic

A)  T2 is fine. The tips of these primaries are commonly broken off during the year. The bird is very slightly disadvantaged, but it makes up for it and works around it. The feather will be replaced in the summer molt.  It is of no concern, and is a rather common occurrence, and happens most often when chasing and taking squirrels in trees, where the feather tips get caught in branches.


            Dinko Mitic


As always, I must express my huge gratitude to the devoted photographers - Dinko Mitic, Kevin Vaughan and Carolyn Sutton - who not only spend hours out in the cold and often dark mornings to capture these magnificient images of the hawks and who allow me to use them to illustrate this blog, but who also take the time to upload their pictures to the Franklin Hawkaholics' Facebook page thus allowing so many hawk fans to keep up with the action.

Sunday, March 9, 2014

Love is Definitely in the Air....But....

Love is definitely in the air as Mom and T2 soar together near the Franklin Institute, enjoying the rare sun and blue sky amid the endless snow storms of the apocalyptic winter we've experienced in Philadelphia.

           Dinko Mitic


           Dinko Mitic


Dinko Mitic with his powerful lens and excellent timing caught their erotic mid-air talon clench...

                                      Dinko Mitic


... and their ensuing copulation on the highest point of the Museum!

                                      Dinko Mitic


                                      Dinko Mitic


                                      Dinko Mitic


Kevin Vaughan also captured them at the beginning of March in similar activity on top of a nearby train-yard light platform.

           Kevin Vaughan


           Kevin Vaughan


           Kevin Vaughan


And now for the But....

... But, so far, there has been no activity at the Franklin Institute nest which remains unvisited and unsticked...

           Della Micah


... even though the hawks regularly perch on the corners and pilasters of the next door apartment building.  The hawk is right at the top of this image, and the nest is at the bottom.

                                      Dinko Mitic


           Dinko Mitic


           Dinko Mitic


And just this past Thursday, Mom was spotted taking off from the Franklin Institute near the nest.

                                      Dinko Mitic


Now, here's the kicker - though finally in the past few days the hawks have started carrying sticks...

         Kevin Vaughan


           Kevin Vaughan


... they are not carrying them to the nest, but to a platform tower of lights set in the train yards across the river from the Art Museum near 30th Street Station.

           Kevin Vaughan


                                               Kevin Vaughan


Here Mom is arranging the growing pile of sticks.

           Kevin Vaughan


Do not be fooled by the detail in these pictures.  The photographers could only get this via their powerful lenses.  The platform is not easily viewed by the naked eye.

           Carolyn Sutton


So here's the big question: Is this stick-carrying activity to the light platform similar to last year's venture at the GlaxoSmithKline building when Mom and T2 seemed hell-bent on building a nest there with no seeming interest in the original nest, and then with what seemed like the flick of a switch, transferred all their stick-carrying activity to the Franklin Institute nest?  Or have they committed to a new nest site, and we are witnessing the beginning of serious nest construction on the platform?

Obviously, I hope the former to be true so that we can once again see the miracle of those eggs being laid, hatching, and then the devoted, tender care of the eyasses by both hawks.  This new site is set in the middle of the train yards, surrounded by railroad lines, and the intense traffic lanes of the I-76/Vine Street Expressway merge.  There are no trees nearby.  For the eyasses, this will be a very rough place from which to fledge safely.

However,  I am an optimist and I hope that, just as last year, they will suddenly decide to return to the truly excellent nest that is already so well constructed and from Mom's perspective at least, has been where she has laid, incubated, and hatched 15 eggs over the past five years.

To feed my optimism, earlier this afternoon (Sunday) at 4:00pm, both hawks were perched on the old Board of Education building, right next to the Franklin Institute, so they are still visiting the immediate nest area.

                               Pamela Raitt


Let's also remember John Blakeman's comments from last year:


"First, I wouldn't just yet attribute "nest" status to the meager assemblage of sticks on the new, higher, window ledge. Right now, I think this just some pro forma, ritualistic stick play. Red-tails often do this, parking some sticks around in new places, which do sometimes turn into new nest sites. But way too early to tell just yet. I wouldn't be concerned until there is a real pile of sticks, upon which one or both (particularly the formel) began to spend a lot of time sitting and maneuvering the sticks.
 
Sadly, for us, Red-tails are famous for moving around into new nests, after abandoning perfectly good and well-used nests from the previous season. They stay in the same territory, as are these two, but elect to build and use a new nest within a quarter- to half-mile from the old one --- sometimes even closer.
 
And there is no good reason for this, as the old nest usually is in perfect shape, as at the FI.
 
But the truth of the matter may be as follows. Stick carrying, exchanging, and nest building are very strong pair-bonding behaviors. Red-tails just get a joy out of these things in mid and late winter. Makes 'em happy."



Keeping my talons crossed for their return the Franklin Institute nest......