T3 seems to have decided to build his nest in an old squirrel nest, rather than move into the well-established nest at the Franklin Institute built by T1 (Dad) then used by T2 for one season in 2013.
Carolyn Sutton discovered the nest on February 8 when she saw T3 flying with a stick...
... and then watched him bring it in to this old squirrel nest.
Carolyn described him as "positively demonic, back and forth from the surrounding plane trees, every time carrying sticks and staying on board to arrange them."
The nest looks to have a deep bowl.
Mom visited a couple of times, but mostly seemed content to sit nearby and watch him work. As large as these birds appear, they weigh far less than one would think, and can perch easily on the topmost twigs of a tree.
Here she is flying out of the nest as T3 organizes his recent stick delivery.
For readers familiar with Philadelphia, here are some orienting shots of the nest. This view is looking down the Benjamin Franklin Parkway toward City Hall.
Now with your back to City Hall and looking straight ahead at the Philadelphia Museum of Art.
Looking left, it's a straight flight over to the ball field (the tan building is the field house), a favorite hunting and perching spot.
The multicolored surface is the parking area of Eakins Oval that was transformed last summer into a pop-up beach park!
Though the nest is positioned quite far out on the branches, as a squirrel nest it has been in that tree for several years, and has survived Hurricanes Irene and Sandy. It is strongly built...
... and T3 is busy at all hours of the day with home improvements - hopefully, for his new family.
Though this nest is quite a bit higher than the Franklin Institute ledge, it is accessible for watching the hawks' comings and goings, at least until the trees get their spring and summer foliage. It is also a better spot for the eyasses as instead of only being able to hop-jump from the nest to the ledge and then back again, they will be able to climb out on the surrounding branches. "Branching" is the term used for those early explorations. When they fledge, there are plenty of surrounding trees, and no dangerous expressways nearby. They are also close to the plentiful hunting grounds of the ball field, the museum environs and along the river.
And best of all, Mom and her beau seem to have given up on nesting at this terrible spot in the train yards where Carolyn Sutton saw her on December 26.
Hawkaholics will remember T2 met his end down on the train tracks last spring when it seemed that they were building a nest on this structure.
With the discovery of the new nest, and the close companionship that Mom and T3 are displaying...
...it looks extremely hopeful that there will soon be eggs. And though they have switched from the sculptured ledges of one of the great science institutions to frequenting the spires of a great art museum...
... they still manage to find dramatic ledges near their new nest.
Let's hope that T3 continues to keep Mom happy!
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