Updates

As most of you know, Ida Suskind (aka Kiku) has died. An obituary appears in Cincinnati.com. Click here.

The SW Florida eagles, Hope and Honor, have fledged. They still visit the nest occasionally. I came upon this link to a database of videos for them: Click here to view

The hummingbirds, Fleur and Pip have also fledged.

To date, there is one egg in the Franklin Institute ledge.

Controversy still abounds over Roger_Paw's assertion that Octavia is "fooling around" with the Plaza male hawk. I don't know, but I looked at a picture of Octavia from Palemale.com and compared it to Roger's pics of Octavia, and they look the same to me. Fascinating! ____________________

Cornell Red-tailed Hawk Nest Update

Like the Decorah eagles, it seems Big Red and Ezra moved their nest this year. They are on a different light pole on the athletic field. So Cornell has been scrambling to get the cam going. They have it set up now, though it may have some glitches and no chat for the next few days. It's now hosted on their All About Birds site, where they also have video of Big Red revealing her first egg. They'll also be featuring links to all their cam sites there, as well as twitter feeds, highlight clips, and more. The new link is http://cams.allaboutbirds.org/channel/16/Red-tailed_Hawks/

We still love the New York Times

From articles on the dwindling numbers of bees (due to pesticides?) and a decrease in butterfly numbers (due to gmo crops and herbicides?) to several on species on the verge of extinction, the New York Times Science Section on the Environment looks at disruptions in the food chain that have ramifications for insects, birds, and humans. And there are more worthwhile articles there as well.

Hoping to Save Bees, Europe to Vote on Pesticide Ban

Monarch Migration Plunges to Lowest Level in Decades

Endangered or Not, but at Least No Longer Waiting

WSP Hawk Cam 2013!

I just received this email from Pondove. Good news — But I'm still keeping my fingers crossed that this will happen!

Dear Hawk Friends,
As you may have heard, the NY Times will not be hosting the NYU
hawk cam this year. John Blakeman, 14th and I have been working with
NYU to try to find a way to keep it going. There is one egg since
Wednesday and I am awaiting an update, as eggs are laid every 2 or 3
days.

The good news is that NYU has decided to put a camera up! I didn't get
a specific date but will know soon...all I was told was that a week or
more. Not that much to see while Rosie is incubating for the next
week, so that's OK. The important thing is that they said yes!! So
stay tuned and John Blakeman, 14th and I will keep you abreast of the
date as things progress.

Thanks to everyone for being part of this amazing cam! It will be
great to see everyone again from the past 2 seasons! I am so thankful
to President Sexton for once again allowing us to share this wonderful
experience. Maybe triplets this time?! We'll know soon! Love, Pon

Viewing Birds on Cams and in Galleries

While the fate of the cam on Bobby & Rosie's nest is uncertain, there are places to view birds. The FI cam is up and running, but there are no eggs yet. The Minnesota Bound cam is also live and there is one egg there. The Southwest Florida cam eaglets are starting to branch.

And there is a new famous "Pip" in the Hummingbird Nest cam. Apparently, one of Phoebe's eggs hatched but the other was not viable. It was removed and the homeowners placed an orphan hummingbird into the nest. There is a fantastic video of the baby being placed in the nest and Phoebe's immediate acceptance of her on YouTube here. Links for all these cams are at the right.

For those in New York City, the New-York Historical Society is featuring “Audubon’s Aviary,” with more than 200 watercolors of birds, in their galleries through May 19. (Parts 2 and 3 will be shown in 2014 and 2015.) An article about it, featuring a slide show and bird calls, is in the New York Times. Click here to read.