So what's with all the trash in the nest?

If you've been watching the live camera stream from the Franklin Institute today, you've probably been wondering why the hawks (mostly the male) brought a brown paper bag early this morning, and then later some black plastic, and then some white paper.

It turns out that this is a significant stage in their nest building, and John Blakeman, our hawk expert from Ohio, sent me the following information:

"Well, to us, it's street trash. Not to the hawks. It's all soft and easily carried to the nest, where it will be re-worked and tucked into the bottom of the nest to help seal the bowl.

Actually, here in Ohio in the more normal rural nests we seldom see these. Out here, the birds are picking up corn leaves and some tree leaves from the ground, serving the same function. These larger, more bulking lining materials are brought to the nest in January and February. In March (generally) more fine-grained lining materials will be brought in. Linings vary from pair to pair and geographically. The birds use whatever is available and works. Strays sheets of The Inquirer, paper bags, and even some wafting plastic bags are likely to turn up at The Institute nest in these months. It will be interesting to see what will be used as the more final, softer lining materials in March. Fist-fulls of grass are often brought in.

Don't be surprised if some of these larger lining materials just disappear. The birds will carry them off or dump them over the edge if they don't seem to work well into the nest bottom.

Now, the birds are getting near the end of big-sticks stage. They have a profound urge to bring things to the nest. Not all that they bring in really works, so a few things are hauled off or allowed to tumble away.

And here's another topic that analysis of The Institute nest could yield: the nest materials used by this pair, and the times they were put into place, should be recorded, to help answer the question of how urban nests differ from rural ones.

Quantitative and structural analysis of red-tail nests throughout their range has never been done. It could start in Philadelphia. How, for example, does this ledge nest differ from those on the rock cliffs in the West?"

--John Blakeman


Last week I asked John how the nest was looking, and about the pine greenery the hawks started bringing to the nest last week:

"The nest, and all of the activities there, are just perfect. The pair will use the nest once again. The evergreen sprigs are commonly brought to red-tail nests, for unknown reasons. But when they appear, it's a sign of profound commitment. We're on for a good year of hawk-watching. Nothing like it in all the world."
--John Blakeman

New link for the hawkwatch camera at the Franklin Institute

The Franklin Institute IT folks have been busy getting the Ustream camera set up, and there is now a different link from what was originally posted.

This is now the link for the live camera:

http://www.ustream.tv/channel/the-franklin-institute-haw-cam

The nest seems to have made it through the incredible snowstorms of the last five days here in Philadelphia. Already this winter we've had more snow than the last four winters combined, and it is now officially the most snow in a single winter since they began keeping records - and it's only February 11th!

I took this picture last night looking out of my back door as the storm was finally winding down. So much snow.....

Let the viewing begin....yay!

The announcement that we've all been waiting for:

"U-Stream is a go. I repeat U-Stream is a go... Look for our hawks between 6 and 7 AM tomorrow [Saturday, February 6] a great chance to see them at the nest during the driving snow!" from Gene Mancini this evening on the Franklin Hawkaholics' Facebook page.

Here's the link:

http://www.ustream.tv/channel/the-franklin-institute-live-exhibit-cam

I guess it's not hard to predict what we're going to be doing in between show shoveling sessions these next few days!

For those of you who have not yet connected with the Franklin Hawkaholics' Facebook page, you might want to consider doing that as it is the place where you can get up to the minute news about what's happening at the nest.

Happy hawk watching!!!

The camera is up - let the viewing begin....soon!

Fasten your seat belts, and get ready to start your hawkwatch engines -- the new camera is now in position at the nest!!


On Thursday, Gene Mancini told us on the Hawkaholic Facebook page that the installation of the camera was underway, and yesterday our intrepid photo-journalist, Kay Meng, took these pictures of the spiffy new camera. It is located outside the window, so we won't have to contend with weird reflections.

To my inexpert eye, it also looks as if the camera may have some rotational capability so we can keep better track of nest antics.

As Kay was checking out the nest, she was treated to the unforgettable sight of one of the parent birds (haggards) flying nearby in yesterday's bright sun.








Absolutely no question that these are red tail hawks!

John Blakeman on Love in the Sky!

John Blakeman, our Ohio expert on all things hawk, sent me his thoughts on how our hawks are looking in the photos from last week (see previous blog post), and exciting details of upcoming red-tail romance!

"Great photos, capturing the regal elegance and essence of winter red-tails. And you were correct on every point, especially about the birds' contentedness in the cold weather. Unless it's way below zero (F) for an extended time, several days or longer, these big hawks are entirely comfortable in winter weather. The fluffed-up feathers act like a thick down coat, keeping the hawks' body cores nice and toasty. They are masters of all they survey at this time of the year. Few other wild animals can live so comfortably in winter. Experienced haggard red-tails need worry for nothing.

Now this pair has surely stayed in the area for the winter. They did not migrate to the South. They were content to hang around, albeit not as closely to the nest site as in the breeding season. But now, they've detected that the day length, the photoperiod, is no longer declining. For them, the seasons are changing, prompting closer attention to the nest area.

Toward the end of January, the birds will start courtship flights, with the male ascending high over Philadelphia, then plunging with wings folded right toward his mate circling just a few hundred feet above the street. Start looking for these flights, some of the most impressive maneuvers of any raptor, fully matching the prey-killing stoop of a peregrine falcon.

Most people watching hawks in the city tend to look for perched red-tails. Soon, it will be time to be looking high in the sky, watching for soaring red-tails with dangling feet, a profoundly sexual signal between the pair, with the female saying to the tiercel, "Take off, get way up there, and show me what kind of a love dive you have."

No eggs will be laid until sometime in March. This is only the second year for the pair (at least at this site), so they aren't likely to be early. I wouldn't expect any eggs until mid-March, perhaps not even until the third or fourth week.

Yes, another reproductive season is on its way. Keep us posted, if you will."

--John Blakeman

They're back!

When Gene Mancini posted this Christmas Day message on the Hawkaholics Facebook page -

"Merry Christmas everyone. Our Pair have been very close to the building the last two weeks, and spending lots of time in the nest."

- hawkaholics everywhere were excited to learn that the parent haggards were clearly interested in their nest and the surrounding area.

So Kay Meng and I decided to go down to the Franklin Institute last Monday to see if we could see the haggards for ourselves. It was a gray, windy, winter morning and after about 30 minutes of wandering around checking out all the usual spots where we had seen the hawks during the summer and fall, we had to get out of the frigid wind and warm up. We sat in the window of a little coffee shop behind the Institute where we could look out onto the Parkway and watched the corner of the building where the nest is.

Suddenly we saw that familiar wing flap, white underbelly and red tail as a haggard zoomed in and disappeared across the front of the building. We raced out to the street in front of the nest hoping to see mom or dad but no birds on the nest.

We walked around to the main entrance of the Franklin Institute and stood in the sun at the top of the grand staircase looking out over the Swann Fountain over to the Free Library, figuring that if a haggard were around we would eventually see it, and that we could warm up a bit in the sun while we waited.



And our waiting paid off when a haggard flew in and perched on the decorative molding above the windows to the left of the entrance.




We thought it was the male as we remembered he had darker feathers on his face. He clearly was enjoying being out of the wind, warming up in the sun.





And then, the best moment of the morning! The female flew in to join the male, and

Kay was firing away on her camera and got this great shot as the female flew in.



The sun highlighted their beautiful red tail feathers.
















It had been a long time since we had seen both haggards together - back in the summer when they had been busily feeding the eyasses and supervising their first attempts at hunting. You can clearly see the difference in body shape - the female (left) is bigger and rounder, and the male has more of a wedge or rectangular silhouette.


We could also see the difference in color of the feathers on their faces. Mom (left) has a much lighter colored face than dad.






Even though it was so cold and windy, they seemed quite content to perch and preen and look out over the city from "their" building.




To our inexpert eyes, the birds looked in superb health with beautiful plumage, much different from the scruffy molting hawks at the end of the summer.

After watching them up there for close to 20 minutes, it was as if the female said, "You want some really cool pictures? OK - here I come, right at ya!"

Fortunately, Kay's photo-reactions are razor sharp, and she got these amazing images when it seemed the hawk might fly right into us!












She alighted on a ledge on the other side of the main entrance, only about 30 yards from where they had been sitting together.

And that's where we left them. It was just so great to see them together, comfortable in their urban environment, and looking so fat and healthy! The only thing that would have made this a more perfect hawkwatching experience would have been to see them on the nest, but we know that's coming soon!

An eyass sighting - one of ours?

Yesterday, a large hawk landed in a tree right outside the front of my school (Germantown Friends School in Philadelphia) and gorily devoured the unlucky squirrel it had just caught.






Over the course of the next hour, students and faculty gazed up in excitement or horror, disgust or amazement, as the hawk systematically tore into and gobbled down its prey.








In many households on Friday evening, this event must surely enlivened the dinner table conversations of "What happened in school today?"












I sent pictures of the GFS hawk to John Blakeman for his reaction. Here's what he thought:

"Your bird is definitely a red-tail, almost surely a female, from the size. This is an eyass, hatched last spring.

There is a small chance that it is one of the Franklin Institute eyasses. The fact that it sat there and ate the squirrel with all the kids below suggests that it's used to people and the urban environment. But most likely it's merely a bird "in passage," what falconers call a "passager," an immature in its first migration."

As Germantown Friends is only five miles (as the hawk flies) from the Franklin Institute and Art Museum area, it is possible that this was one of "our" eyasses! It certainly was completely unfazed by the commotion of hordes of children racing around underneath squealing in excitement, taking pictures of it with their cellphones, and then - as squirrel body parts and bits of fur began dropping to the ground - dodging out of the way and screeching!

John Blakeman also gave an update on his new red-tail falconry hawk - Zephyr II - as she undergoes her training.

"In early October I was able to trap a nice big female passager, named Zephyr II. She's sitting nicely in my mews now and learning the role of a falconry hawk. She's particularly calm and is learning all of her lessons well. She is doing daily vertical flights to my fist, and will soon be doing horizontal flights on a creance (long tethering cord) in my backyard. In two or three weeks she should be ready to take into the field, in pursuit of cottontail rabbits.

Unlike last year, we had a very fine hatch this year, with good numbers of passagers in the landscape. Zephyr was trapped at 1250 grams, and is now flying at about 1175 g. As she continues in the daily flights, she will approach her trap weight as she builds strong flight muscles. No more fat, just strength---and all with good personality. She never tries to "foot" (grab) me, or bite.

It's a pleasure to have a hawk once again. And Zephyr needn't be concerned anymore where tomorrow's meals will come from. She doesn't even have to worry about getting drenched or cooled in a midnight rainstorm in winter. She's living better now than her wild consorts."