Mom is back in the nesting business!

Good news and better news! Mom definitely has a mate in T3, and they are nesting. The only disappointment is that the nest is not on the window ledge at the Franklin Institute. It's in a tree alongside Eakins Oval at the top of the Parkway in front of the Philadelphia Museum of Art.

          Carolyn Sutton

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.

          Kevin Vaughan

Carolyn Sutton discovered the nest on February 8 when she saw T3 flying with a stick...

          Carolyn Sutton

... and then watched him bring it in to this old squirrel nest.

          Carolyn Sutton

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."

          Carolyn Sutton

The nest looks to have a deep bowl.

          Carolyn Sutton

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.

          Carolyn Sutton

Here she is flying out of the nest as T3 organizes his recent stick delivery.

          Carolyn Sutton

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.

                                       Carolyn Sutton

Now with your back to City Hall and looking straight ahead at the Philadelphia Museum of Art.

                                       Carolyn Sutton

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.

                               Carolyn Sutton

The multicolored surface is the parking area of Eakins Oval that was transformed last summer into a pop-up beach park!

          M. Fischetti

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...

          Carolyn Sutton

... and T3 is busy at all hours of the day with home improvements - hopefully, for his new family.

          Kevin Vaughan

          Kevin Vaughan

                                    Kevin Vaughan

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.

          Carolyn Sutton

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...

                            Kevin Vaughan

...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...

                                         Kevin Vaughan

... they still manage to find dramatic ledges near their new nest.

          Kevin Vaughan

Let's hope that T3 continues to keep Mom happy!

          Christian Hunnold