Park Ave. Peregrine Falcons: 29 March 2007

299 Park Ave. (5:32pm EDT) 35mm film equiv.: 420mm | ISO: 80 | Shutter: 1/200s | Aperture: f/5.6

The evening session was cut short due to headache. Enough time was spent at the site to make it a worthwhile outing.

I stayed for an hour arriving at 5:13pm.

At 5:31pm, 18 minutes after arriving, a Peregrine was spotted moving south along Park Ave. to a perch on the northwest corner of 299 Park Ave. (‘UBS Building’).

While the 299 Park Ave. falcon was scanning the territory another Peregrine was seen flying north from a building's opening at 6:09pm. It headed for a favorite perch on 320 Park Ave. (‘Mutual of America Building’) on its south facing side.

While photographing the 320 Park Ave. falcon I spotted the 299 Park Ave. Peregrine heading north behind the 320 Park Ave. building. Even though I was looking west along 52nd St. I didn't see it flying north of 52nd St.

Shortly after the previously seen north bound falcon was heading south towards the opening of a building's east face. This opening is 5 from the south side.

I left the site with a falcon still perched on 320 Park Ave. at 6:15pm.

Park Ave. Peregrine Falcons : 28 March 2007

320 Park Ave. (7:07pm EDT) 35mm film equiv.: 405mm | ISO: 80 | Shutter: 1/30 | Aperture: f/3.7

Activity was seen from 7:02pm-7:21pm.

I arrived at 7:00pm and spotted a Peregrine Falcon exiting an opening from a building's south face. It then headed west, then north, then perched on the south side of 320 Park Ave. (‘Mutual of America Building’). The photo on the right was taken at this time.

At 7:19pm a 2nd falcon was seen heading north just west of Park Ave. It continued north & disappeared from view between the ‘Sony Building’ (the ex-ITT Building) and the Four Seasons Hotel off Central Park South.

At 7:21pm the 320 Park Ave. falcon left its perch & circled a few times over Park Ave. It then headed west disappearing south behind the ‘Mutual of America Building’.

I left the site at 7:30pm. So far I've been able to view activity over Park Ave. every day I've visited the site. This is a better hit rate versus viewing Peregrines from the south end of Central Park.

Park Ave. Peregrine Falcons : 27 March 2007

299 Park Ave. (6:29pm EDT) 420mm | ISO: 100 | Shutter: 1/500s | Aperture: f/3.7	320 Park Ave. (6:45pm EDT) 420mm | ISO: 80 | Shutter: 1/80s | Aperture: f/4.5	350 Park Ave. (6:32pm EDT) 317mm | ISO: 80 | Shutter: 1/80s | Aperture: f/4.0

The center and right images were taken when both Peregrines were visible. They were perched a city block from each other.

There was a lot of activity tonight. Both the male & female were visible simultaneously on several occasions.

I arrived at 6:00pm. At 6:13pm a single falcon was heading uptown along Park Ave. It veered to the east as it approached 57th St. My observing location was at 52nd & 51st St. on the east side of the avenue.

A lot happened between 6:30-6:34pm.

First a falcon was seen coming in from the north heading down Park Ave. to a perch on 299 Park Ave. (the ‘UBS Building’) between 48th & 49th St. The perch was the same corner (north-west) used on the 22nd of March. This is the leftmost image above.

From the south another Peregrine was seen heading for a perch on 320 Park Ave. (the ‘Mutual of America Building’). This is between 50th & 51st St. It perched facing south.

Soon after landing this falcon headed for an opening at the top of a building along the west side of Park Ave. Seconds later the falcon on 299 Park Ave. followed it to the same opening.

After the second falcon landed one of the Peregrines left the site with prey in its talons to a perch on 350 Park Ave. (the ‘Park Ave. Bank Building’) between 51st & 52nd St.

By 6:43pm I noticed a Peregrine perched just south of this falcon on 320 Park Ave. This is the falcon in the center photo above. The falcon that carried the prey to 350 Park Ave. is in the rightmost image.

At 6:50pm the 350 Park Ave. falcon headed south along Park Ave. followed by the 320 Park Ave. bird. Both veered west along 48th St.

The last sighting at 7:25pm was of a Peregrine heading north along Park Ave. pursuing a Mourning Dove. The falcon didn't appear to be flying hard to keep up with the dove. Both disappeared from view behind the ‘Park Ave. Atrium’ (between 52nd & 53rd St.) briefly.

Seconds later the Peregrine appeared again swooping on a bird. I couldn't tell if the bird was caught since the Peregrine disappeared again behind the ‘Park Ave. Atrium’.

The sky was clear and the temperature was between 74°-71°F.

Park Ave. Peregrines & CZA: 25 March 2007

Peregrine Falcon
WALDORF-ASTORIA HOTEL — PARK AVENUE
Image by BEN CACACE
(Click image for a larger view)

Peregrine Falcon
MUTUAL OF AMERICA BUILDING — 320 PARK AVE.
Image by BEN CACACE
(Click image for a larger view)

Recently I spotted some activity over Park Ave. that suggests there may be some nesting in the area north of the Met Life Building.

On March 21st I watched a Peregrine Falcon circling over Park Ave. while I was heading back to work. I followed it to a perch just below the roof of a building. A few openings away from this Peregrine was a second falcon perched on the same level just below the fencing.

Over the next few minutes the Peregrines were seen perched side-by-side with one of them entering the opening and then leaving the site with something in its talons. The whole time spent observing was no more than 20 minutes.

Tonight I stopped by the site to see if there was any activity that could lead to a definitive nest location. Five minutes after settling in I spotted both falcons heading north. The male was in the lead followed by the female. This occurred around 5:10p.

Watching Peregrine Falcons is mainly a waiting game. When I was at the site the day after first spotting the pair it took 4 outings before I saw any activity.

Tonight, after the 5:10p sighting, I waited for 40 minutes before a Peregrine returned to the area. It circled and perched on 320 Park Ave. (the ‘Mutual of America’ building) between 51st and 52nd St. After 5 minutes it flew east to the west tower of the Waldorf-Astoria Hotel which is a huge building.

It remained on this perch for 35 minutes. When it left at 6:33p it took the same path as the pair did when I saw them heading north at 5:10p.

I left the area at 6:45p.

The photos were taken with a 420mm (35mm equivalent) lens, hand held with image stabilization. A larger lens mounted on tripod should pull in some nice photos.

Circumzenithal Arc — 5:15p EDT
MANHATTAN OVER PARK AVE.
Image by BEN CACACE
(Click image for a larger view)

The image above is a circumzenithal arc (CZA) I took this evening. The image was shot at 5:15p. The internal clock on the camera was not adjusted for Daylight Saving Time in case you can see the EXIF information.

The altitude of the Sun at the time of the photo was a bit over 21°. The greatest brilliancy for a CZA is when the altitude of the Sun is 22° which was 5 minutes earlier. CZAs cannot form when the altitude of the Sun is 32° or higher. I wish I took down the time when the CZA disappeared but my focus was on the falcons. An hour before the photo was taken was when the Sun was 32° above the horizon.

Some references for circumzenithal arcs:

• Wikipedia
• Atmospheric Optics
• Meteoros

History of 5th Ave. Red-tailed Hawks

Attached is the document ‘History of the Fifth Avenue Red-tailed Hawks as of 4/21/06’ produced by Jim Lewis and supplied to me by Marie Winn. I've uploaded the document to my site in order to make it available to the public.

Click on the title in quotes to view the chart ... Enjoy!