March 26, 2010

Updates on 1 Fifth Avenue, and Astoria Park

I visited the 1 Fifth Avenue nest again this past Sunday(3-21-10), and again there was no nest activity. When I arrived in the morning I spotted one of the RTH pair circling high above the park before disappearing in a Southwesterly direction. I stayed for another hour and watched vigilantly to see if any nest building activity or egg incubation exchanges took place, but saw nothing. I returned again in afternoon and again no nest activity. I plan on going extra early this Sunday morning to see if they are still using this spot for nesting as I haven't seen any activity at all since the storms we had nearly two weeks ago.

I visited the Astoria Park nest this past Thursday evening to find that Athena is indeed now incubating eggs. Atlas returned to the nest at around 5pm with a Starling in talons for Athena. She began to eat the Starling right there in the nest, so Atlas decided to perch nearby and clean his beak. Athena then left the nest with the Starling and continued to eat her meal on a tree near the tennis court. Atlas realized this a minute or so later and returned to the nest and sat down on the eggs. For a minute there neither of the pair were sitting on the eggs which made me think that eggs had not yet been laid, but Atlas quickly realized he needed to return to the nest and he disappeared into the deep bowl while Athena finished her meal. From watching this pair in 2008 I realized Athena is a superior hunter and often passes leftovers to Atlas. She also spent more time hunting during the egg incubation period, leaving Atlas to do the incubating. I don't know if this is do to Athena being the older/more experienced of the pair, and if that role reversal will change as Atlas matures. Hopefully watching the nest this year will shed some light on the situation.

Atlas bring a meal
Atlas leaves Athena to eat in the nest
Atlas perched nearby
Athena finishing her meal
Atlas realizes that no one is watching the eggs and returns

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