Busy, busy days at the nest

The Franklin Institute haggards have been extremely active in the past couple of weeks with their nest building activities. The sticks and twigs rise higher by the day, and the bowl of the nest where the eggs will be laid is now very apparent.  The hawks are starting to line that bowl with softer materials such as pine needles and newspaper.



Most of the heavy lifting is being done by the tiercel (dad) who tirelessly flies in and out of the nest bringing a seemingly endless supply of materials.  Here he is this morning, gazing out over his cityscape, having just delivered another large stick which he artfully poked into the nest structure.
 

The big news today was a new camera placement by the Franklin Institute.  This camera is mounted outside the window and gives a marvelous view of the ledge as well as the nest.  This will give a much better view of the eyasses when they start exploring the area outside the nest.  We will also see the haggards coming in for landings, especially exciting when they are bringing prey.

Yesterday on a springlike Sunday morning, Kay Meng visited the nest, and found both haggards sunning themselves in their favorite tree across from the nest.



The tiercel soon busied himself bringing sticks to the nest.  What a beautiful reflection Kay caught in the window.
 

The tiercel rarely lingers on the nest, but eagerly heads off to find more nesting materials.
 



He soon returns, this time carrying some paper!



Meanwhile, his mate remains in the tree watching all this activity.  He takes a break to perch beside her in the sun.  His white chin is very visible here.



And gradually, they both seem to settle into a Sunday morning doze!




This peaceful scene is in contrast to the wild, stormy weather we had in Philadelphia last week.  The high winds created a real challenge for the tiercel as he attempted to anchor some of his favorite nesting materials - plastic grocery bags.



No sooner would he get it under control, and then leave to find more stuff, when the wind would either quickly blow it away, or inflate it...



... and turn it into a whirling plastic dervish



One solution was to simply fly in and sit on it!

Each day brings different decor decisions for the hawks...

 ... paper...



... plastic...



... oak leaves...



... more paper...



... more plastic...



Gradually, these materials started to integrate and form a lining for the nest bowl...



... all the while helped by the hawks' assiduous attention to the arrangement of their nest






Last spring, John Blakeman, our hawk expert from Ohio, told us that this trash gathering is a significant stage in their nest building, so let me share his knowledge again:

"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 this. Out here, the birds are picking up corn leaves and some tree leaves from the ground, which serve 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."

 -- John Blakeman

These hawks are thriving magnificently in their urban territory as winter releases its hold on Philadelphia and spring finally seems imminent.

Friday morning at the nest

The Ustream camera is now rolling at the Franklin Institute and we can watch all the action at the nest.

Here is the formel at 9:30 AM on Friday rearranging some newspaper that arrived earlier.

The grid at the bottom of the screen is a reflection from inside the window.

Then the tiercel arrived with a large stick which he laid across the newspaper.

He then tweaked the stick and the newspaper until all was to his liking.

 

One way to tell the difference between the two birds is to look for the slightly lighter white stippling or streaking on the tiercel's head

The camera is ON!!!

The camera at the Franklin Institute has been activated..... and off we go for another magical spring with the Franklin hawks.

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


         Thank you, Franklin Institute.

Valentine gifts and romance - hawk-style!

Despite the layers of snow and ice still covering the streets of Philadelphia, the lengthening days are triggering the nesting instincts of the Franklin hawks.  In the early morning before Valentine's Day, Kay, Caroline and I made a quick trip to the nest, and saw that the hawks were definitely "in the mood."

Kay has a new camera lens - about 3 feet long! - so this was a great opportunity to put it to the test.

At 7:30 AM, both haggards were perched side by side in a tree across the street about 50 yards from the nest.  The tiercel (dad) made two flights in quick succession to the nest, each time carrying a stick. 

 

When he landed at the nest, he would stay for about a minute arranging his stick....

 

.... and then fly swiftly right back to his lady-love.

 

When he returned from his second delivery of a stick, he landed right beside the formel (mom) and immediately jumped on top of her and they copulated.  No romantic build-up with these two!

 

One of the two emitted a loud screech or two. Then they sat side by side again for a couple of minutes.

He made another trip to the nest with a longer stick....

....then flew back to the same tree, but landed in a higher branch from the formel.  He hopped around from branch to branch, almost as if he were looking for an even better stick.  The formel never moved from where she had been sitting when we first arrived.

The tiercel flew for the fourth time to the nest with a stick.  

When he returned to the formel, he once again jumped on her and they copulated for a second time with more screeching.  

 
All this took place in the span of 25 minutes.  Timing is everything.....

Both birds sat in the tree for another few minutes then each flew off in slightly different directions, and perched separately in a couple of other trees. 

Does he have a slightly smug "mission accomplished" expression?

The last we saw of them was both flying low behind some buildings, then they flew farther and farther away till we lost sight of them.

I sent an account of the morning's activity to John Blakeman, and as always, he was generous in sharing his observations:

"Yes, the 2011 nesting season has begun in earnest. All of what you saw indicates this. The frequent copulations (not, properly, "matings") indicate that the lengthening days are affecting the birds' endocrine systems. Breeding hormones are flowing copiously. The tiercel is acting in response to these, including the bringing to the nest of the sticks (and later, leaves and such, for lining), along with the frequent copulations. The formel will do a lot of sitting around, watching the hectic activities of the tiercel, thereby prompting eventual ovulation.

 

The snow and cold have absolutely nothing to do with any of this. It's all controlled by the increasing length of the days, nothing else.

 

All of this indicates that the pair remains fully bonded, and will replicate the previous years' successes (barring unforeseen calamities).

 

Spring is on its way, snow and cold (both in Philadelphia and northern Ohio) notwithstanding. Once again, a new Red-tail breeding season is wonderfully underway.

 

--John Blakeman

Hawk lunch - Philly style

Here's some fascinating video of an immature red-tail hawk who is clearly completely at home in the city, using the roof of a parked car as its lunch table!

We know it is an immature because its eyes are still golden, and its tail has the characteristic brown barred markings of an eyass instead of the red feathers of a mature adult.




Of course, we Franklin Institute hawk fans want to know if this is one of "ours" from this past spring, knowing how unconcerned they are with spectators close by.

John Blakeman had the following commentary:

"The bird is obviously an urban red-tail, that regards humans pretty much as my rural red-tails regard cows and sheep; with utter disregard. I've never seen this in a wild red-tail. But we are still learning about those urban red-tails.

 

Could this be an eyass from The Franklin Institute? Could be. But not so likely, inasmuch as immature red-tails at these latitudes (not so in the South) have profound migratory urges in the autumn. This bird may have hatched on an urban nest in the Boston or New York City areas.

 

I'm certain that it didn't hatch in a typical rural nest. No self-respecting red-tail of any age would allow humans to come so close.

 

And yes, this is exactly why urban red-tails need to be banded."

 

- John Blakeman

Happy New Hawk Year: they're back!

 On this last day of 2010, I'm happy to report that the Franklin hawks are busy getting ready for 2011!

Kay Meng and I decided to check out the nest this morning, and hopefully catch a glimpse of the haggards.  We met at 8:00 AM on a cloudy morning by the nest, snow piles everywhere from the recent storm, but no sign of the hawks. 

Then, out of nowhere, the formel (mom) flew in carrying a stick for the nest.  She landed, moved to the back of the nest, settled down, and just about disappeared, demonstrating how deep the bowl of the nest is already.  She stayed there for a couple of minutes - enough time for Kay to get her camera locked and loaded, and ready for the formel's take-off.

We watched her fly to the end of the building and perch on the roof, then looked back at the nest just as the tiercel (dad) landed, also carrying a stick.  He too settled into the bowl, then took off a few minutes later.

For the next thirty minutes we were treated to non-stop action as the hawks flew back and forth from nearby trees to the nest carrying various sized sticks and twigs.  The tiercel worked harder, barely resting on the nest between trips, whereas the formel would bring a stick, then hang out on the nest for a while.

 

At one point, she flew to a nearby lamp post and watched as her mate did the heavy lifting!

 

Here's the tiercel lining up precisely for a landing.

He tried to carry a really big branch and dropped it before he could get it to the nest.  I put a coffee mug beside it to show the scale of what he was trying to carry.

Perhaps realizing that his reach was exceeding his grasp, he scaled back and successfully landed his next delivery

Both hawks look fat, healthy and in fine feather - quite a change from when we last saw them in their summer molt, looking quite scraggy.  The tiercel's white bib under his beak is in contrast to the formel's chocolate coloring.

What a treat to spend the morning with these magnificent birds. 

Seeing the hawks so obviously committed to their nest is a wonderful harbinger of the delights to come in 2011.


Stay tuned!

Catching up with the eyasses

Apologies for the length of time since the last post. My horse is recovering from a tendon injury which requires a couple of hours of hand walking and icing each day, and my dog has had a series of mystery ailments, possibly as a result of a compromised immune system. I feel as if I have been running a veterinary hospital! Thankfully, everyone is recovering well, and now I have time to catch up with the eyasses.

All three continue to thrive despite an endless series of heat waves here in Philadelphia since they fledged. Temperatures have rarely been down below 90, and last week were over 100 for three days straight.

The Rodin Museum has become a favorite spot for the eyasses, who show little respect for the sculptor!



Last Sunday, July 11, on an oppressively hot afternoon, Kay Meng and I found an eyass in the trees by the museum's entrance.



It watched us with the usual interest and lack of fear.



Then tended to an itch....




.... and then screamed a couple of times in case a parent was nearby and might bring food.



But the only bird that paid it any attention was a pesky mockingbird who dove relentlessly at it. The eyass showed great composure under fire until the mockingbird eventually gave up.



The eyass's attention then was riveted on a nearby squirrel...



... which did the usual squirrel freeze, hoping not to be noticed. Luckily for the squirrel, this eyass has not yet figured out how to catch squirrels.



It launched at it, but the squirrel was long gone by the time the eyass reached the tree.



But nothing daunted, the eyass decided that bees or yellowjackets might be an easier prey. It flew to the grass below where there were many flying close to the ground. You can see one showing against the eyass's pale leg.



The eyass flapped and jumped and kept missing!



But finally, persistence paid off...



... and the eyass snacked happily on bees.


Though we mostly watch the hawks early in the morning when they are active and the temperature is cooler, it was interesting to see how busy this eyass was in the middle of the afternoon.



Carolyn Sutton has been indefatigable in her hawk checks at dawn each morning, and her daily reports and pictures on the Hawkaholic facebook page provide a great record of the hawk family's activity.

Here is a compilation of Carolyn's reports and some of her pictures for the past ten days or so:
 
Friday, July 9 

Hawk watching was spectacular this morning. The three eyasses were hunting not ten feet away from me (and all three are in this picture).



One by one they flew to the fence in front of me for portrait sessions.

A haggard watched all of this from high atop a crane at the far end of the site

The eyasses took off to hunt in different directions, and I lost track of them at about 6 am. All of this happened in absolute silence; no squawking: not one peep!


Saturday, July 10

Two eyasses were in evidence when I arrived at the construction site at 5:15, but they were soon gone to hunt. When Della arrived, we walked over to the Rodin Museum, and BONANZA is all I can say! We watched in awe as three eyasses chased squirrels aplenty, traversing the broad lawns along 21st St with steely resolve, pausing now and then to climb tree limbs and flounce around on the ground looking for slow/dumb prey. No luck. I was watching one of the hawks in pursuit when I heard Della gasp from behind as two hawks whizzed right by me, one on the right and one so close to my left shoulder that I could feel the breeze. HOLY COW! Never a dull moment with this threesome!

Sunday, July 11

Silent eyasses are difficult to stalk, but the good Lord moves in mysterious ways. I parked by the Rodin, and a telltale robin led me to the twins. This morning they were hunting silently above the Expressway between 21st and 23rd Street. I kept pace with them until they separated and started back to the nest area.

At one point, I was watching one of the twins behind a fence...

... when it jumped up on the fence within three feet of me

then flew right at me, joining its twin in the grass behind me. Then they both flew right at me (just like yesterday) one practically grazing my arm as s/he whizzed by. Am wondering if they are warning me that I am cramping their hunting style.


Monday, July 12

I couldn't find the hawks this morning when I arrived at 5:40 except for one eyass flying silently to the trees behind Parke Towne Place apartment complex on 22nd Street. I decided to take a final loop around the Parkway before leaving and heard the telltale robins making a racket next to the 24th St. ramp to the expressway. I stopped to investigate and, just like last year, there was an eyass hanging out at the baseball field. I watched as it bounced around on top of the batting cage, then jumped down to the ground.

Then, a little stomping and mantling and off it went, carrying something into the pine trees nearby. It was dark under the trees but I am sure our intrepid hunter ate whatever it had carried there.

Next stop the trees on south side of Eakins Oval parking area. Go west, young hawk, go west -the Art Museum is just a block away!

Tuesday, July 13

Between 5 and 6 AM I saw no hawks in their usual haunts near the construction site or the Rodin Museum. Relying on last year's experience, I decided to check out the Art Museum. Yahoo! There, atop one of the griffins that adorn the museum's roof, was a squawking eyass. [Here is a picture of those griffins]

It flew to a streetlight below just as another hawk flew from the trees of Schuylkill Banks. The eyass took off for the museum again and I watched as it met Mom.

Not sure how many of the family I actually saw, but looks like the eyasses have discovered the same nifty hunting preserve as last year's eyasses.

Wednesday, July 14

Hawk stalking is a challenge after two days of torrential downpours in Philly. But, neither rain nor other inconveniences prevent our Franklin Institute hawks from hunting. Here is a wet eyass...

... and Mom near the Art Museum at 6:30 this morning.

Sandy Sorlien also did some hawk watching and reported and photographed that she saw "one wet eyass on the tall construction crane. It sat there looking over toward 21st & Callowhill for a while, then flew over there to the left of Whole Foods."

Thursday, July 15

Got to the Parkway extra early this morning (4:35) and found two eyasses still hanging out near the Barnes construction site. One was on the crane photographed by Sandy yesterday, and the other was atop the south Civil War monument. As I watched another hawk flew to 21st Street, then returned to a Franklin Institute window ledge. It was Dad, who left a little later for the library entrance balcony.

Interestingly, there was a small pile of twigs on the window where I saw Dad this morning (3rd floor at 20th St end of FI). Decided to check out the Art Museum area and found eyass #3, our "lone wolf", I think, sitting right where it was yesterday -- over the 24th St on-ramp to the expressway.

Friday, July 16

Decided to hang out at the Art Museum between 4:30 and 5:30. I was pretty sure a hawk was lurking in the pines (because a robin was chipping nervously the entire time), but it never revealed itself to me, even though a family of bunnies scurried around below. Driving down the Parkway to the Barnes site, I saw one eyass on a dead limb overhead, but it was too dark for pictures and, after squawking for awhile s/he flew off toward 21st St.

Saturday, July 17

Saw Dad and at least one eyass between 6 and 7 this morning a hawk flew by as I made my first loop through the Art Museum area, and I spotted Dad on a roof ledge when I returned later. Spotted an eyass perched on the east pediment of the library, then went searching for more of the family.

An eyass flew right at me from the library vicinity, hell-bent for a squirrel breakfast. It barely missed the critter, then spent the next half hour alternately squawking for free food...

... then making hunting runs and changing perches.

People often are completely unaware of how close they are to a hawk!