Exciting news this evening from Michele Wellard, Assistant Wildlife Rehabilitator at the Schuylkill Wildlife Rehabilitation Clinic, on #3, the eyass who broke her leg while attempting to fledge in early June:
"Tonight, Number 3 was released from her indoor recovery soft cage to a very large outdoor flight. She was a little bewildered, but is flying and perching well (not to mention eating). We are all feeling positive about her recovery. I'll send pics of her in flight soon."
Carolyn Sutton, who volunteers at the SWRC on Tuesday evenings, sent this additional information:
"#3 has been moved outside! Rick and Michele removed the protective tail covering and we let her loose in one of the flying cages. She took off immediately for the other end, then flew right back at us. We all ducked in unison. LOL. She is simply stunning; flies like a champ; not so good with landings... but then we knew that, didn't we? No concrete here. Hip hip hooray!!!!!"
As soon as I receive any additional news of #3, and hopefully, pictures, I will post on the blog.
Wednesday, July 27, 2011
Thursday, July 21, 2011
Sunday and beyond - an incredible week of hawkwatching
As soon as the sun is up and the eyasses have had their first meal of the day, they start larking around. Sunday morning found them once again up at the Art Museum whose roof provides some of the best perches in the city.
Joe Debold
Scott Kemper
As always, a parent haggard keeps an eye on them - in this case, Mom, who is being pestered by a mocking bird.
Scott Kemper
The other eyass sits on a lamp pole watching the show.
Scott Kemper
Mocking birds HATE hawks, and attack them with impunity. The hawks have endless patience, showing only mild, understandable irritation when these pesky little birds dive bomb them.
Scott Kemper
Joe Debold
Occasionally, the hawk will snap its beak at the pest, but more often will fly away when it's had enough.
Scott Kemper
Like most kids, the eyasses are fearless about where they play and explore. The current construction site behind the Art Museum has some cool machinery to jump on.
Scott Kemper
Well-placed perching fences enable them to hang together...
Scott Kemper
... and show off their synchronised landing skills.
Do not (repeat) Do not try this at home: Professional landers on a closed fence!
Scott Kemper
And of course, the Barnes Museum construction site is still the destination of choice when the urge to perch in a really noisy, dangerous area....
Joe Debold
Joe Debold
... surrounded by construction workers...
Joe Debold
... is just too much to resist.
To a curious young eyass, a dumpster is also irresistible - ugh!
Scott Kemper
Scott Kemper
Occasionally, the hunter appears to become the hunted. Some of the hawk-battle-hardened Parkway squirrels apparently believe attack is the best form of defense...(squirrel right at the bottom)
Joe Debold
... in the form of a stare down.
Joe Debold
This rookie eyass seemed just a bit clueless as to what should happen next.
Joe Debold
But Mouse 101 has definitely been mastered...
Joe Debold
...with all material thoroughly internalized!
Joe Debold
Joe Debold
This eyass's curiosity was piqued by its own shadow, possibly the first time it had ever seen it.
Scott Kemper
Can I catch that? Maybe... if I walk quickly.
Scott Kemper
Whoa - that's not me!
Scott Kemper
But what have we here? Perhaps this hawk was imprinted by the spatula in its nest?
Scott Kemper
The early morning sun highlights the beauty of these hawks at rest...
Joe Debold
Joe Debold
... on the prowl...
Joe Debold
Joe Debold
... and in flight...
Scott Kemper
Scott Kemper
Joe Debold
The elevation of the Art Museum allows us to view them from above as they hunt along the grassy embankment of Spring Garden St.
Scott Kemper
On Sundays, this street is closed to traffic to enable runners, bikers and joggers traffic-free access to the West River Drive. The eyasses seem to enjoy the endless parade of activity. Here's Carolyn Sutton photographing one of her buddies who is posing perfectly!
Scott Kemper
The ability to swivel their heads beyond 180 degrees - shades of The Exorcist! - saves them from having to shift their feet.
Scott Kemper
This year, it is striking how rarely, if ever, we hear the eyasses calling for food, in marked contrast to 2009, the first season of the Franklin Institute hawk nest. That summer, one could hear the characteristic "seagull call" almost every morning as the hungry eyasses made it known they needed a food drop. The haggards are now very experienced in raising their young, and have done a phenomenal job of keeping this year's eyasses well fed literally from the moment they hatched. These eyasses seem much more advanced in every way from the previous two broods.
Because of their silence and the increasing size of territory through which they range, it is becoming steadily more difficult to locate them in the mornings. On Wednesday, the only hawk I found at 5:45 AM was Dad up on his usual lamp post near the Rat Tunnel.
Della Micah
Carolyn Sutton
...the Franklin Institute's Budd BB-1 Pioneer, the first stainless steel plane ever built.
Joe Debold
Degree of perch difficulty = 10+. It's not even a perch! What a show-off!
Joe Debold
We found the other eyass in a shady grove of trees near the nest.
Joe Debold
He then hopped down onto the fence along the Vine Street Expressway.
Della Micah
Here's Joe photographing him. What you don't see here is the proximity to the six lanes of traffic thundering along down below. My lens is poking through the railings for this shot.
Della Micah
As we passed under the nest, we noticed that it had had its annual spring clean by the Franklin Institute to remove all the slicings that if left would erode the stonework. Additionally, there had been some careful "pruning" of the nest sticks to reduce the considerable height of three year's worth of nest material.
Joe Debold
Here's how it looked in May!
...and then in June.
Mary Gamble Barrett
This will give a larger surface area for the haggards to begin piling on their sticks, a process which has already started, indicating their total satisfaction with this nest.
Joe Debold
Scott Kemper
And now this marathon blog post must end! Here are three gorgeous head shots of these strong, healthy young hawks who are ready to take on the world. Each time we see them now may be the last. As Carolyn Sutton recently said, "You just can't predict much in Nature. These hawks will constantly keep us guessing. With luck and persistence, we may be able to keep up with this family for a little while longer."
Joe Debold
Scott Kemper
Joe Debold
As always, a parent haggard keeps an eye on them - in this case, Mom, who is being pestered by a mocking bird.
The other eyass sits on a lamp pole watching the show.
Mocking birds HATE hawks, and attack them with impunity. The hawks have endless patience, showing only mild, understandable irritation when these pesky little birds dive bomb them.
Occasionally, the hawk will snap its beak at the pest, but more often will fly away when it's had enough.
Like most kids, the eyasses are fearless about where they play and explore. The current construction site behind the Art Museum has some cool machinery to jump on.
Well-placed perching fences enable them to hang together...
... and show off their synchronised landing skills.
Do not (repeat) Do not try this at home: Professional landers on a closed fence!
And of course, the Barnes Museum construction site is still the destination of choice when the urge to perch in a really noisy, dangerous area....
... surrounded by construction workers...
... is just too much to resist.
To a curious young eyass, a dumpster is also irresistible - ugh!
Occasionally, the hunter appears to become the hunted. Some of the hawk-battle-hardened Parkway squirrels apparently believe attack is the best form of defense...(squirrel right at the bottom)
... in the form of a stare down.
This rookie eyass seemed just a bit clueless as to what should happen next.
But Mouse 101 has definitely been mastered...
...with all material thoroughly internalized!
This eyass's curiosity was piqued by its own shadow, possibly the first time it had ever seen it.
Can I catch that? Maybe... if I walk quickly.
Whoa - that's not me!
But what have we here? Perhaps this hawk was imprinted by the spatula in its nest?
The early morning sun highlights the beauty of these hawks at rest...
... on the prowl...
... and in flight...
The elevation of the Art Museum allows us to view them from above as they hunt along the grassy embankment of Spring Garden St.
On Sundays, this street is closed to traffic to enable runners, bikers and joggers traffic-free access to the West River Drive. The eyasses seem to enjoy the endless parade of activity. Here's Carolyn Sutton photographing one of her buddies who is posing perfectly!
The ability to swivel their heads beyond 180 degrees - shades of The Exorcist! - saves them from having to shift their feet.
This year, it is striking how rarely, if ever, we hear the eyasses calling for food, in marked contrast to 2009, the first season of the Franklin Institute hawk nest. That summer, one could hear the characteristic "seagull call" almost every morning as the hungry eyasses made it known they needed a food drop. The haggards are now very experienced in raising their young, and have done a phenomenal job of keeping this year's eyasses well fed literally from the moment they hatched. These eyasses seem much more advanced in every way from the previous two broods.
Because of their silence and the increasing size of territory through which they range, it is becoming steadily more difficult to locate them in the mornings. On Wednesday, the only hawk I found at 5:45 AM was Dad up on his usual lamp post near the Rat Tunnel.
For the next hour and a half, Joe, Scott, Carolyn and I split up and searched from Logan Circle to the Art Museum; from the Franklin Institute to the Fairmount Water Works; from the Free Library to the Rodin Museum, keeping in contact by cell phone about our fruitless search. Not a hawk to be seen.
Finally, just after 8 AM, Carolyn located the eyasses romping in Logan Square where I had just been ten minutes previously. By the time I arrived, one of the eyasses had moved to the ultimate adventurous hawk perch...
...the Franklin Institute's Budd BB-1 Pioneer, the first stainless steel plane ever built.
Degree of perch difficulty = 10+. It's not even a perch! What a show-off!
We found the other eyass in a shady grove of trees near the nest.
He then hopped down onto the fence along the Vine Street Expressway.
Here's Joe photographing him. What you don't see here is the proximity to the six lanes of traffic thundering along down below. My lens is poking through the railings for this shot.
As we passed under the nest, we noticed that it had had its annual spring clean by the Franklin Institute to remove all the slicings that if left would erode the stonework. Additionally, there had been some careful "pruning" of the nest sticks to reduce the considerable height of three year's worth of nest material.
Here's how it looked in May!
...and then in June.
This will give a larger surface area for the haggards to begin piling on their sticks, a process which has already started, indicating their total satisfaction with this nest.
And now this marathon blog post must end! Here are three gorgeous head shots of these strong, healthy young hawks who are ready to take on the world. Each time we see them now may be the last. As Carolyn Sutton recently said, "You just can't predict much in Nature. These hawks will constantly keep us guessing. With luck and persistence, we may be able to keep up with this family for a little while longer."
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