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The DNAinfo archives brought to you by WNYC.
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Hawk Watchers Wait to See if Widowed Mother Can Keep Babies Alive

By Leslie Albrecht

DNAinfo Reporter/Producer

UPPER WEST SIDE — Hawk lovers were anxiously waiting Friday to see whether Riverside Park's widowed raptor would feed her offspring with food left out by the Parks Department.

If she does, her babies may live.

The red-tailed mother recently lost her male mate, who some believe died after eating a rat poisoned by the Parks Department.

With at least two hatchlings in her nest, the mother must now shoulder two parents' duties — keeping her babies warm and dry, while providing a steady supply of food.

That will be a challenge, said wild bird rehabilitator Bobby Horvath, who's advising the Parks Department on how to help the struggling hawk family.

Hunting takes time, even for birds of prey. Riverside Park's red-tailed hawks feed on the city's rats, squirrels, pigeons, but only about one out of 10 hunting trips are successful, Horvath said.

"She doesn't have the luxury to take off for 10, 15 minutes or half an hour to find prey," Horvath said. "She's splitting her duties and it's almost impossible for one bird to do both jobs."

That's because her newborns, known as eyasses, are covered in a white fuzzy down that doesn't keep them warm or dry. They need their mother in the nest to protect them from becoming damp or chilled, which could be a death sentence for the young birds, Horvath said.

But the eyasses also need to eat several times a day at this stage in their development. Adult hawks can survive for a few days without eating, but for the hawk youngsters, constant food is critical, Horvath said.

To lift some of the mother's burden, Horvath advised the Parks Department to put out dead rats and quail that she could easily find and bring back to her brood.

On Friday morning, a park ranger was seen placing two white rats and two quail beneath the tree where hawk family nests, just north of the Boat Basin Cafe. Rangers will also stash the rats and quail in spots where the hawks have been known to hide food in the past, Horvath said.

"It's a gamble, but it's the least invasive option," Horvath said. The food drop may not work because raptors usually chase after live prey, so the hawk mother may not accept the dead animals as food, Horvath said.

Hawk lovers Jan Kraus and MaryAnne Dumont had their eyes glued to the nest on Friday morning. The mother was away, presumably hunting, and a baby hawk's white head briefly popped into view, looking like a fuzzy ping pong ball.

Kraus and Dumont said it was difficult not to attach human emotions to the wild animals. "I can't imagine what it's like for her, to have lost her partner, especially at this time," Dumont said.

Kraus, who said she visits the hawk nest almost every day, said she'd been "weepy" since the hawk father's death. On Thursday she watched as the mother seemed to tuck the eyasses into the nest, then venture out to hunt. She returned when it started to rain a few minutes later, Kraus said.

Kraus and Dumont said the hawk pair was inspiring because they seemed to work like a "well-oiled machine" as parents, splitting their duties evenly.

"He would come in and give her a break," Kraus said.

"He was a good husband," Dumont added.

The feathered father's body was discovered on April 24 near the West 81st Street playground, according to the blog Urban Hawks. A necropsy by the state Department of Environmental Conservation will determine the cause of death.

Horvath said hawk watchers told him the female hawk seemed panicked after the father hawk failed to return to the nest. She perched high in the family's home tree, crying out for her lost mate.

"I heard she was screaming for hours," Horvath said. "Basically she was calling for her mate, saying, where are you? We're hungry up here."