Here they are just five days ago on December 19 sitting on the library ledge across from the Franklin Institute...
... and three days ago (December 21) sitting even closer to the nest in trees near the Barnes Museum, with Mom taking her customary higher perch.
But let's backtrack to the confusing days of last spring (see March 2014 blog posts) when it appeared that Mom and T2 were going to build a new nest high above the train yards of 30th Street Station, until the tragic loss of T2 apparently hit by a train while hunting near the new nest site. Mom was then pursued by a series of eager young tiercels, and as spring wore on into summer it was not at all clear if she had paired up with one of these hawks, and we never saw her engaged in any nesting activity.
At various points in the summer loyal hawkstalkers Carolyn Sutton, Kevin Vaughan and Dinko Mitic reported sightings of Mom with a tiercel who appeared to be same one heading into the fall, and he was referred to as T3.
Before I go any further, I must give a huge shout-out to Carolyn, Kevin and Dinko for their extraordinary photographs of these hawks over the past three months. Just when you think you have seen the most beautiful images possible, they produce even more exquisite work taken literally from dawn to dusk. Without their generosity in allowing me to use their images, this blog could not be.
On a gorgeous day in early October, Dinko Mitic hit the mother lode (Mom lode?) of hawk sightings when he found Mom and T3 together on one of the gryphons atop the Art Museum.
Over the course of that morning (October 9), Dinko followed them as they hopped and flew around the Art Museum, itself an iconically beautiful building that showcased the hawks to perfection.
Mom has always favored the tip-top spires at the Museum, and it was so good to see her back in one of her favorite haunts.
... she soared powerfully above the Museum...
...and you could see the final feathers in her red tail growing in after the summer molt.
Below, T3 watched her every move as she flew up above him...
... and then farther away.
T3 likes the ledges under the roof, perhaps to shelter from the wind...
... or to keep an eye on Dinko and his camera below!
Mom stayed up top on another favorite perch - the paw of a gryphon...
... until it was time to head out, and end this magical series of images.
Exactly a month later on November 9, Carolyn and Kevin spied a hawk in a tree alongside the ball field near the skate park - that dot near the top of the middle tree. This is typical of fall and winter hawkstalks when the leaves are down - you can see the hawks so much more easily even from a distance.
It turned out to be T3 with his noticeable white chin...
... and prominent dark band across the bottom of his tail.
T3 engaged in some seriously agile preening that day.
After that, it was pretty quiet for the hawkstalkers until December 13. And from that day going forward, it has been non-stop action from Mom and T3 around the Franklin Institute area, almost as if she is introducing him to all the amenities adjacent to that prime piece of nest-estate: the rat farm, the pigeon bar, and many primo perching locations from which to launch a hunt.
December 13
Carolyn found T3 sitting on the Family Court building...
A passerby then alerted Carolyn to another hawk sitting on the adjacent Library - it was Mom!
She was definitely watching T3 over at the Family Court.
The Library and Family Court are only about a block away from the Franklin Institute across the Ben Franklin Parkway, so it was exciting to know that both hawks were together in that area.
December 14
Mom introduced T3 to one of the great pigeon look-outs on Logan Square - the spotlights that surround the Swann Fountain. She took her usual high perch above him.
When the fountain is operating, water gushes out from this fish's mouth - one of the many statues that comprise this magnificent fountain. In the background, behind the hawks on their spotlight, is the Franklin Institute.
T3 flew over to the Library, immediately followed by Mom, and they sat there close together for over an hour...
... until the lure of pigeon for lunch over at the Family Court proved irresistible, much to the pigeons' consternation.
December 16
T3 was waiting for Carolyn on Logan Square on this foggy morning, but no sign of Mom.
This panorama shot of Logan Square with T3 on the spotlight on the right shows its proximity to the Franklin Institute in the background. T3 is definitely in the zone.
During the morning, he moved to several different spots around Logan Square. Here he is in a tree near the Cathedral, with the old Philadelphia Inquirer building in the background.
At lunchtime, Dinko took a stroll and saw Mom in a tree in the Sister Cities park on the south side of Logan Square. She had clearly just finished a large lunch judging by her bulging crop.
T3 was nearby with City Hall in the background.
December 17
Today, Carolyn found Mom and T3 together in various trees near the Franklin Institute. Here they are in favorite trees in front of the Barnes Museum - one way on the right; the other over on the left.
Then they headed to Eakins Oval in front of the Art Museum.
Later in the day, Dinko saw Mom flying overhead near the Library.
December 18
This was an extremely eventful and exciting day that took a while to unravel, and it was only after careful analysis of their photographs that the hawkstalkers finally were able to figure it all out. In the morning gloom, Kevin and Carolyn originally thought that the hawk on the roof of the Franklin Institute coughing up a casting (similar to an owl pellet) was T3.
It turned out to be an interloper - a juvenile hawk. T3 zoomed over from the Library to chase off this threat to his territory...
As T3 started to get the better of the interloper, you can see the brown barred tail that also marks it as a juvenile.
T3 finally had the invader realizing that this was not a fight he could win...
... and T3 chased him away from the Franklin Institute. Kudos to Kevin who showed great presence of mind to keep shooting through all this drama!
An interesting footnote to the morning's activity was this view of the Civil War Monument covered in pigeons. Throughout the summer, they had free range of the Library, Family Court and the Franklin Institute. Now that Mom and T3 are in town, plus the invading juvenile, there aren't so many safe spots for pigeons.
Later that same day, Dinko saw T3 patrolling the Franklin Institute...
... and then landing there.
Let's hope T3's fierce "Don't mess with me or my building" expression portends future move-in plans for the nest.
What a beautiful hawk - T3 - Mom has found for herself.
And just when you thought the day couldn't get any more exciting, look what cruised right over the Franklin Institute! This is probably the bald eagle that has often been seen by Boathouse Row behind the Art Museum. Fortunately, T3 kept his powder dry, and did not get involved with this guy!
December 19
Carolyn had a dawn sighting of Mom framed by the Liberty One and Liberty Two buildings.
Kevin found T3 heading to the Library with a mid-morning snack - probably a starling.
Mom arrived for some snack...
... which she got, of course, and then they sat together for a while. This image shows really well how much bigger Mom is than T3, and how much darker she is on the head and chest.
The she took off towards the Parkway.
T3 soon followed, taking the urban route to the ball field.
December 20
The Day of the Rat! Carolyn was on pre-dawn patrol in Logan Square, and in the near darkness saw Mom swoop down from her spotlight into the bushes below. When Mom flew back up she was not carrying anything. T3 eventually flew in and perched nearby, as always, lower than she.
After a while, he flew down to where she had swooped earlier, and had a HUGE rat in his talons. Did Mom swoop and miss, and then T3 get the job done? Or because the tiercel always chooses the nest site, did she leave the rat there to impress him with the easy abundance of food should he choose to nest in the neighborhood?! Probably not, but it's a fun thought!
He managed to haul it up onto a lamp...
... and then finally got it into a tree.
Mom, meanwhile, watched inscrutably from her nearby tree.
December 21
On the first day of winter, Mom and T3 were together again...
... and moving ever closer to the Franklin Institute. They are together in the tree - look above the roof line - one above the other.
Mom
T3
December 22
So just three days ago, Kevin saw both Mom...
... and T3
... just a block or two north of the Franklin Institute. While it is obviously still too soon to tell if the Franklin Institute nest will feature in their future plans, the early signs are encouraging.
And if you have made it to the end of this Christmas Day mega-post, you are truly a Hawkaholic!
I am sorry that I have not written in so long. I was so discouraged by the events of last spring, and then the empty nest. I thought that Hawkwatch at the Franklin Institute was over after five amazing years since 2009. But there are definitely hawks to watch again at the Franklin Institute, so stay tuned!
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