American Kestrel with Lizard 14-Jun-2009

Female American Kestrel With Lizard
MANHATTAN — UPPER EAST SIDE
Images by BEN CACACE

The nesting American Kestrels, on the Upper East Side in the mid 70s, have revealed the presence of lizards on their territory.

The photo above shows the female after this lizard was delivered to her by the male kestrel. Over a period of a week or so I spotted the male bringing up to 4 lizards to her, all intact and not prepared as some of the prey birds are.

In all my years in the city I've yet to see a lizard on the streets or in the parks.

Here's a reference to regional lizards on the "Amphibians and Reptiles of Long Island, Staten Island and Manhattan" website. The two lizards covered are: Italian Wall Lizard & Northern Fence Lizard.

The photo is not the best for identifying the lizard. Any tips on identifying these lizards in the scope would be helpful.

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Upper East Side: Kestrels Mating 12-Apr-2008

American Kestrels
MANHATTAN — UPPER EAST SIDE
Images by BEN CACACE

The image above is an animation of 22 stills taken on Saturday 12-April-2008 from 6:03:20 — 6:03:32 EDST.

The pair has appeared in the area for the current breeding season. The nest location has not been found yet. As far as I know this area has not hosted a kestrel pair for at least the past 11 years since I've been living here.

Here's a map of various perches used by the kestrels. The location of the antenna in the above image is #1 on the map.

The animation is set to run twice since reloading (Ctrl+R) the web page doesn't always work.

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Park Ave. Peregrines Are Back: 14-Mar-2008

Today I spent a half hour during lunch hour plus a little less than a hour after work watching raptors over Park Ave. from a convenient seat near 52nd St.

From 12:20p to 1:10p there were 4 raptor sightings. The 1st was a local Peregrine Falcon circling west of the Met Life Building. The 2nd was a high flying Peregrine heading due northwest but I wasn't sure if it was a migrant or a local. Shortly after this I viewed a vulture heading due north but didn't have a long enough look to confirm it as Turkey Vulture.

After this unexpected flurry of raptors I went to pick up lunch and on the way I spotted a low flying Peregrine Falcon over 48th St. and 2nd Ave. heading due west. Not bad for a half hour's effort!

In the evening, at 5:30p, I headed for the same spot on 52nd St. After a few minutes there was a fast flying Peregrine Falcon high up heading due north at 5:38p.

Then I saw what I had been hoping to see all year. The following activity took place between 5:45p & 6:20p.

First, a Peregrine was seen flying in from the west. It landed on the NW corner of the UBS Building at 299 Park Ave. It was joined seconds later by another falcon! The first to land was the first to leave heading W and landing on the western tower of 280 Park Ave.

This falcon, which turned out to be the male of the pair, was carrying prey back to 280 Park Ave. Minutes later the female flew at the perched male. The tiercel then flew towards the west eventually returning to the same rooftop.

The male was feeding on the prey all along with the female taking her turn for a brief period before she eventually left the food on the roof with the male. I didn't see the female after losing her just north of 280 Park Ave. as she was making lazy clock-wise circles on stiff wings.

After close to a half hour feeding on the roof the male Peregrine finally headed east for the near tower on the Waldorf-Astoria landing on its south face out of view.

Seeing the pair was a pleasant surprise. I've been looking for Peregrines in the area for many months. This is the 1st time seeing the pair together this year.

It would be interesting to find out whether this pair is using the Met Life Building's nest box or if they are establishing their own territory as I suspected last year.

If there are 2 pairs then these falcons may have been displaced from the General Motors Building when construction was going on around their nest site when the Apple Building was under construction.

Only coordinated efforts will determine whether there are 1 or 2 pairs of Peregrines in the neighborhood.

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Met Life Building: Peregrine Perch 13-Mar-2008

Peregrine Falcon Perch
MET LIFE BUILDING
Image by BEN CACACE
(Click image for a larger view)

During lunch hour today I spotted a Peregrine Falcon heading south while looking for American Kestrels from Park Ave. & 51st St. north of St. Bart's.

It was a brief view of a falcon disappearing behind a building northwest of the Met Life Building (between 44th/45th St. & Park Ave.).

A minute later the falcon reappeared a bit further south circling just west of Met Life. It then dove and perched on a dish antennae on the west edge of Met Life's north face. The image above was taken in the evening. Not during lunch when the falcon was seen. Click the image for a larger view.

This is the first time I've spotted a falcon perched on Met Life's north face. I moved to 48th & Park Ave. to get a better look. This is probably the first time I've viewed a perched Peregrine where I knew its location but couldn't make it out naked eye.

The distance to the perch is over 1,300 feet based on the distance to the building's base (~1,088 feet) and the height of the Met Life Building (~808 feet).

I stopped by the site after work from 6:05p to 6:35p and didn't see any Kestrels or Peregrines in the area.

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Central Park Report: 18-Aug-2007

DATE: Saturday, 18 August 2007 (3:45p-7:20p)
LOCATION: Central Park - reservoir & north end
REPORTED BY: Ben Cacace

It's easy to see Central Park is not a nature sanctuary. While counting the Mallards on the Meer I spotted one with a huge fishing lure lodged in its lower bill. Last week the same was seen with a Canada Goose.

While birding the Wildflower Sanctuary I was cursed out by a dog 'walker' who didn't want to hear what the rules had to say about his off leash dog - a beautiful Border Collie.

Sooner or later one of the Red-tailed Hawks will be killed by rodenticide use in the park. Many traps can be spotted in key locations. If anyone knows anything about using rodenticides in a raptor's territory please take a look at http://www.palemale.com/ceparouse.html and if you could let me know whether these baiting stations are legal that would be much appreciated.

Sorry for the rank rant but it's tough seeing these things going down without anything being done about it. I never see any rangers around when I'm out birding Central Park though they do seem to appear out of nowhere when a tripod is setup on one of the lawns. The police officers don't appear to enforce park rules. Rules are great but unfortunately it takes enforcement to make them stick.

I know fishing is 'legal' in Central Park but much harm is done from discarded fishing lures and fishing line. I think photographs of these incidents, seen by many park birders, should make a difference if shown to park officials. In my opinion there's no need to have catch and release fishing in Central Park.

** Total species - 31 **

[Categories based on the Central Park checklist.]

'Rare' (seen fewer than 10 times betw. 1970 & publ. of list) [1 spp]:
+ Blue-winged Teal - 1 female-type continues on the Meer

'Less Common' migrants [2 spp]:
+ Gadwall - At least 18 on 3 bodies of water: reservoir (6), Pool (3) & Meer (9+)
+ Spotted Sandpiper - 1 juvenile feeding on the grass on E edge of Meer - approached close to where I was standing

'Common' migrants [12 spp]:
- Double-crested Cormorant - At least 26 on the reservoir
- Chimney Swift - At least 15 sightings incl. a group of 8 over C.P.W. & 108th St.
- Northern Flicker - 1 heard
- Eastern Kingbird - Several seen and heard on North Meadow (3+)
- Barn Swallow - At least 8 sightings incl. 4 over North Meadow & 4 over the Meer (none seen around the reservoir)
- American Robin - Many (60+)
- Gray Catbird - 1 heard
- Yellow Warbler - 1 just W of the bridge leading to the Tennis Courts at N end of reservoir
- Black-and-white Warbler - 1 at the NE corner of the reservoir
- Common Yellowthroat - 1 female in the Wildflower Meadow
- Common Grackle - Several (3+)
- Baltimore Oriole - 2 heard

Year round residents [16 spp]:
- Canada Goose - At least 40 on the Meer
- Mallard - At least 120 on 2 bodies of water: Pool (30+) & Meer (90+)
- Red-tailed Hawk - 1 on the NE tower of the Beresford above C.P.W. between 81st/82nd St.
- Ring-billed Gull - At least 2 on the reservoir
- Herring Gull - At least 50 on the reservoir
- Great Black-backed Gull - At least 20 on the reservoir
- Rock Pigeon - Several (12+)
- Mourning Dove - At least 7 throughout the park
- Red-bellied Woodpecker - 1 heard
- Downy Woodpecker - Several heard and seen (4+)
- Blue Jay - Several heard and seen (3+)
- Tufted Titmouse - 1 over the Loch near the Wildflower Meadow
+ Northern Mockingbird - 1 display flying over the Meer
- European Starling - 1 around the reservoir
- Northern Cardinal - 1 male seen on the north side of the drive
- House Sparrow - Several (24+)

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“Krider's” Red-tailed Hawk Links: 7-Aug-2007

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2003 report on BirdHawk & OntBirds:

Krider's Red-tailed Hawk at Grimsby, ON Sunday, April 13
Mike Street <mikestreet at hwcn.org>
Wed Apr 16 07:40:13 EDT 2003

Ontario and Upper New York state birders should be on the lookout for an adult Krider's Red-tailed Hawk. The bird was seen Sunday, April 13 at Beamer Conservation Area in Grimsby, ON by Don Pleuramaki and myself. It was heading west toward Hamilton but could easily be anywhere in the area, especially after yesterday's very strong SW winds.

Mike Street
Ancaster, Ontario, Canada
»  BIRDHAWK [message]  [archives]  |  ONTBIRDS [message]  [archives]  «

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Reports on BIRDEAST (22 matches):

⇒ Leon Co., FL  11-Nov-1995, Adult at the City of Tallahassee: Southeast Farm off Tram Rd.  [1]
⇒ Addison Co., VT  19-Aug-1998, Seen on Route 74 east of Route 22-A (unknown age)  [2]
⇒ Lancaster Co., PA  12-Mar-2003, Observed in the field of the Centerville Road exit off of US 30 (unknown age)  [9]
⇒ Centre Co., PA  19-Mar-2003, Observed at the wet meadow near the intersection of Colyer and Taylor Hill Roads (unknown age)  [10]
⇒ Gordon Co., GA  11-Dec-2005 through 1-Feb-2006 (6 reports), Juvenile on Fife Bend Road  [15] [16] [17] [18] [19] [20]
⇒ Glynn Co., GA  18-Feb-2006, Juvenile on Jekyll Island  [21]
⇒ Gordon Co., GA  21-Feb-2006, Adult on White Graves Road  [22]

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Park Ave. Peregrine Falcons: 6 August 2007

It was good to finally see a Peregrine Falcon tonight on its Park Ave. territory — north of the Met Life building. My last sighting was June 21st when a Peregrine was seen circling over Park Ave. with prey. It landed on 350 Park Ave. to eat the meal.

Tonight I walked up Park Ave. to Border's Books which has been my usual beat since the Peregrines set up shop over Park Ave. this summer.

On top of 375 Park Ave, between 52nd and 53rd St., I thought one of the verticals on the west face of the building was not quite right. Not long after this it moved revealing the location of a bird. Shortly after this a Peregrine Falcon took off south, in a counter clockwise semicircle, disappearing behind 375 Park Ave.

As I was writing down notes on the 1st sighting a Peregrine appeared high above the streets between 52nd and 53rd St. landing on the north face of 345 Park Ave. between 51st and 52nd St. It alit in a niche just below the roof.

This all took place between 6:30p-6:40p.

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Adult Red-tailed Hawk in Pale Male's Space

Adult Red-tailed Hawk
CENTRAL PARK — 85TH St. & 5TH AVE.
Image by BEN CACACE
(Click image for a larger view)

Tonight this adult Red-tailed Hawk was spotted near the north edge of Pale Male's territory. The hawk has a red tail. It was just inside the 85th St. & 5th Ave. entrance. Blue Jays and Robins were making a racket.

It was fairly dark at the time of the photo — 18-Jul-2007 5:53pm EST, 1/25 sec @ f/3.7, ISO 400 (hand held & image stabilized). A tripod would have come in handy.

This hawk looks very similar to a hawk I photographed on 13-August-2006 on the west side of the tennis courts north of the reservoir in Central Park.

It resembles Pale Male superficially. The major differences are:

• chest color — Pale Male lacks this hawk's rufous tones
• belly-band — Pale Male's is less prominent & not as dense
• Pale Male's throat has significantly more contrast with the face

Take a look at this remarkable photo of Pale Male in flight from Lincoln Karim's site for comparison.

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Park Ave. Peregrine Falcons: 24 April 2007

320 Park Ave. 28-Mar-2007

These observations occured while heading back to work as I passed through the Park Ave. Peregrine Falcon territory. As soon as I turned the corner I spotted a falcon on 320 Park Ave. (‘Mutual of America Building’).

The image to the right was taken on March 28th and is the exact same perch I found this Peregrine on. It was facing south and keeping an eye on the nest building. This falcon was first spotted at 6:10pm EDT.

At 6:35pm I decided to move north from the Waldorf-Astoria Hotel, where the President was just arriving, to my usual viewing spot at 52nd St. and Park Ave.

From here I spotted an ‘object’ in one of the openings on the north face of the ‘nest’ building. Since I didn't have binoculars I could only guess this was a Peregrine Falcon. It was the right size, the right color and had the right attitude.

Shortly after, around 7:00pm, the falcon on 320 Park Ave. headed directly for the ‘nest’ building and perched next to the object mentioned above. Both then hopped down to a place behind this perch. The object was a Peregrine Falcon after all.

Within a few minutes one was seen heading for a similar perch on 320 Park Ave. which was a bit closer to the ‘nest’ building.

After seeing both Peregrines perched at the same distance on 320 Park Ave. it became clear, based on size, that the 1st was the female and the 2nd was the male.

The male falcon was apparently perched off nest (if there is a nest) for at least 25 minutes from before 6:35pm until 7:00pm. Does this behavior lead to any conclusions about the possibility that there are eggs or young being tending to?

Thanks in advance.

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Central Park Reservoir: 5 Common Loons 18-Apr

Three of Five Common Loons CENTRAL PARK — RESERVOIR Image by B. Cacace (click either image for a combined view) 420mm | ISO: 200 | Shutter: 1/160s | Aperture: f/5.6

The number of Common Loons in breeding plumage on Central Park's reservoir has increased to five. All were seen on the surface simultaneously.

Two were feeding in close proximity to each other.

To read the full report of the birds seen in the park after work click here.

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