One week after leaving the nest, both Race Street Red-tail fledglings are alive and well

(c) Greg Saulmon 2012

After seeing just one of the fledglings from the Race Street nest all week, I’d gotten a little worried about the whereabouts and well-being of its sibling.

When the two young hawks fledged one week ago, one seemed to already be adept in the air, while the other fumbled clumsily on the sidewalk below the nest and ended up roosting on a fence in a nearby alley for several hours. It didn’t seem to have either the strength or the street smarts of its sibling.

Sunday afternoon, though, I located both fledglings.

(c) Greg Saulmon 2012

One was already practicing its hunting skills, playing hide-and-seek with a few squirrels on an iron bridge over one of the canals near Open Square.

The other sat in a maple tree, munching on a pigeon delivered by the female hawk that has become the fledgling’s surrogate mother.

As they have all week, both adults kept watch nearby all afternoon.

In another bit of good news, I also dropped by the MacKenzie Field nest to find another intact family: all three members of this year’s brood have fledged, likely a little before their counterparts on Race Street.

It’s baseball season again, so attendees of this year’s Blue Sox games can look forward to up to 5 hawks hanging around the stadium and perching on the lights.