Alwife redtail hawks

Its been two months since we watched the 3 young red tailed hawks grow up on the ledge of the office building at 185 Alewife Brook Parkway. Today when I pulled into the mall parking lot to shop, I saw 3 red tailed hawks overhead. I haven't seen the young birds since the week they fledged. I often look for then when I shop here. Today they circled the lot, rising and dipping and looking very like very skillful fliers.

I don't really know if these are the same birds. But to see three red tailed hawks together, it seems they may be Larry, Lucy and Lucky. I'd like to think so.

When I saw them, I was at Staples, printing an update of a poster and calendar for our community garden. After getting the printout, I drove two miles to the Belmont Community gardens and posted the new sign. A few minutes later, I again saw 3 red tails in the sky. I was glad to have my zoom lens. Maybe the same birds I saw in the parking lot. Maybe the Alewife chicks enjoying their freedom and seeing the countryside. If it is them, its seems nice that they are together still. They were very lucky to have 3 healthy siblings.

Larry fledged today!

The oldest male from the Alewife nest fledged early this morning - before any of his flock of human admirers arrived. On his own he left the nest and by midday when I went by by to check on them, he was soaring the thermals! What a sight! His parents fly with him and shriek, "kireee!" They must be proud. Two more chicks are left in the nest and I bet they will fly soon.

more on the alewife hawks

My parents and I spent a couple hours today watching the beautiful red tail hawk chicks on their nest at the Fresh Pond Mall on Alewife Parkway in Cambridge. There are 3 young birds on the nest, two males and one female. The oldest, the female is 49 days old today. The youngest, a feisty male is 12 days younger.

These young hawks have had nearly full time surveillance by a group of avid hawk-watchers who observe and share all sorts of details on these birds. The chicks have been nick-named Lucy, Larry, and Lucky. Their parents are Buzz and Ruby.

The chicks are very well fed on a diet including squirrels, small rodents, snakes, pigeons, and other small birds. They are also a bit late to fledge - which is the current source of concern for the hawk watchers. When will they fly? Today the older male took a big "jump" and landed on the ledge about 3 or 5 feet above the nest then quickly hopped back into the nest. Does this constitute "fledging"? The consensus was "yes", since he left the nest, however nearby and briefly. But the watchers still eagerly await a more adventuresome flight.

Its a rare treat to watch nature at such close quarters.

You can find tons of other photos of these birds on the web, flickr, and u-tube by searching for alewife hawks.

urban birdwatchers

What's all the commotion at the Fresh Pond Mall? A big sale? Not. A new store? Not. The young Redtail hawks in the nest on top of the building next to Trader Joe's are about to fledge! Its seriously messing up the traffic.

There are two chicks in the nest now. And when Skippy and I were watching on Sunday (along with 50 or 60 other fanatics), both Redtail parents came to check on the kids. Dad brought a bit of dinner and left it in the nest, then flew to the top of the building to watch the birdwatchers. Then Mom came into the nest and seemed to be eating her share first. I was told by a woman by a scope who had been there all day that they are very well fed chicks.

What excitement!




Added later:
Since some people commenting seemed worried about these unnatural conditions, below is a photo of the view these birds have to the west. They are right across the street from Fresh Pond in Cambridge, which actually is a very nice, very large, and very fresh pond. Its the Cambridge drinking water reservoir and is surrounded by beautiful fields and woods with lots of biodiversity.