Almost Fledging

I've been taking time each day to walk down to see my neighbors, the red tail hawks at Riverside Park. They've been growing so fast. I like to walk in at 79th and loop through the east side of the park. This usually gives me the chance to at least one of the parents on the light posts hanging over the Hudson Highway. I also get the chance to watch for other birds. Lots of jays, at least one family of mockingbirds, sparrows, and robins. I swear I saw a parakeet once.

Today I saw one of the eyasses completely out of the nest. It would scamper up the slop of a branch, using its wings to help it up the incline. It would reach a knobby spot and perch there, giving me a great view of its feathers and talons. I'm starting to recognize the three as different feather blobs now thanks to color differences, especially on the front breast. Mom was perched high in the tree and I had seen dad earlier on the light post on the other side of the highway.

Most folks were thrilled to watch. We all chat and exchange information. But this one woman with two dogs, a large golden retriever and a smaller mixed bread, shocked me. I was chatting with her as her retriever tugged at the leash. She talked about how the parents would dive at her retriever when it was chasing squirrels.  She turned to talk to her dog, telling it not to tug so much, that he couldn't be off leash unless it was early morning. She seemed to know the hawks were attacking her dog to defend territory; the hawks clearly saw her dog as a threat. Strangely she had no clue that this meant she had a responsibility as a dog owner to protect her dog. I also think she has a duty to not harass the wildlife. 

I explained a little how the fledging would occur, that the birds couldn't really fly well for several months and would be on the ground in the coming months. She seemed perturbed by this and commented on how stupid and dangerous that was of the hawks. Huh? I explained a little more how they learned from their parents how to hunt this way, even using sticks for practice. I think she was mad that the hawks weren't just going to fly off and leave, fully formed and equipped to live in the wild and avoid her dogs. I don't know how she took my advice of keeping her dogs safe and on-leash but her hastened departure makes me think she wasn't going to head the advice. While I'd like to think the baby hawks could put up a good fight with their parents help, I fear one aggressive dog will be the end of it.

For a really good pictorial view of how hawks grow up in New York City, I recommend D. Bruce Yolton's Trump Parc Red Tail Hawks. I've really enjoyed his blog.