HawkCam

Wow...what an exciting year! Sorry to see the hawks leave, but glad to hear that they're doing well. Many thanks to all who kept the site up and running, allowing us the privilege of witnessing the chicks’ growth. Thanks also to Henry for his updates & to Kristine for providing the link to the Osprey-cam!

http://puleston.osprey.bnl.org/OspreyFund/ospreycam.php

My son & I watched the hawks on a daily basis, but have now turned our attention to the osprey nest, as the chicks there have not yet fledged. All in all, it has been both an enjoyable & informative season and we hope to see you back again next year.

Best, Charlie

Thanks for the update Henry! Very interesting, and much appreciated.

Thank you so much for this fantastic bird's eye view of the MIT Red Tail Hawk World. I have enjoyed every minute that I've viewed (even the those with an empty nest with "food" awaiting the chicks)! My husband set up out laptop in the kitchen so I could watch their progress every day. Now that they've fledged, I "catch" one of them now and again and I have appreciated the updates from those folks that have written in. Thank you again for your contibution to helping us understand more about their world. I will be watching till the end and look forward to next year for nest'08!

I have continued to monitor the hawks' home ledge--as time allows--from our near-same-height window about 150 meters away. Although I see them only rarely during most days (yet as late as Friday afternoon one right there for the world to see in the nest video), in particular I have been trying to keep track of their night-time presence. In fact, almost every night at least one, and usually both chicks perch on that south-facing ledge over night, arriving at late dusk and (to the extent that this night-owl can tell) leaving quite early. About half the time an adult sleeps there too. It is usually quite dark, but I make a photographic telephoto long-exposure survey of the entire ledge every night to count. For example, Saturday night both chicks slept there, widely separated, neither in the nest (sleeping in the nest is very rare now), with an adult on the ledge too. Uncharacteristically, Sunday morning I was able to observe the wake-up! At 0500h the adult was already gone. The chicks then showed movement, one even doing a little morning ledge prance, the other just stretching and preening, and after only a few minutes both (though well separated in distance) took off within seconds of each other and flew to quite separate higher vantage points on the higher roof structures of the "adjacent" building (not the lower broader roof area on that same building where two weeks ago they were practicing their flying--following our somewhat-debated "rescues" from ground level). I was then otherwise occupied most of Sunday, but when there to look never saw them until dusk, when they were back, perched for Sunday night--this time sleeping less than a meter apart. (So cute!) And no baby-sitter this night. (Even when an adult is there at night, I never see it perching with a chick.) Another interesting-to-me-but-probably-insignificant detail: the chicks almost always "sleep" quite erect, with tail hanging over the edge; the adult(s) sleeps more puffed up and hunched, entirely on the ledge, closer to the window. The chicks' flying is now confident and wonderful, a huge joy to see, and here in Boston we have had lately a great many fabulous flying days--gusty wind, and thermals there if they have learned to use them!? Presumably survival now depends largely on learning to hunt. Happy for them but somewhat unhappy for us that most of their lives is now off-site.

I rarely see them at the nest now. Are they still coming back with any regularity, or is it...over? Do we have any way of knowing how they are doing? I miss them!

Hello been watching Haks from
first day on.It,s been great to see the Haws grow.
It,s has been Wonderfull experience for my salf to see eggs turn into red tale,s hawk,s.I hope to watch next year.
THANK YOU MIT THE REDTALES ARE GREAT. THANK YOU SO MUCH.

Well both "babies" are flying now. One hangs very close to the nest and when mom or dad brings in twigs to start fixing up the next it swoops in and starts demanding food. Boy are they noisy! Squaking up a storm. The adults just look at the young bird and fly off. It's like they're saying "come on then I'll show you how". But the young one just sits at the nest and begins calling very pathetically.

Both chicks are at the nest right now! :)

It seems we still have one reluctant baby not willing to leave the nest. I know they have to graduate and leave the nest but, I am happy for this extra time.

This once again has been a magical experience, one that I will treasure always.

Thank you MIT and SAP for allowing us this small glimpse into the world of RTH's. And thank you to all the window watchers keeping us up-to-date on things off camera. I envy you.

Hugs, Kristine

One of the chicks (I think!) was having breakfast this morning in the nest at about 8:15AM.

I suspect feeding is happening early in the morning when no one is watching. This morning I checked at 7AM, and sure enough there was a dead something or another in the nest. When I looked from work after 9AM, it was totally gone.

You don't have to worry about the "smell of humans" on chicks for most birds, as most birds have a limited or no ability to smell.

The parents are trying to get the kids to leave the nest so they are scrimping on the food. What better motivator than hunger? The parents will continue to offer tidbits to stave off starvation but not to fill up on. Those hungry bellies should get the "kids" out there so dad can teach them to hunt on their own.

One of the parents just dropped off a couple morsels of food, so they appear to be fine in that regard. The chicks are brawling for the food in the nest so should be a good show for those watching. They are screaming at each other too, although there is no sound in the cameras.

I'm happy to say that the parents are ok with the chicks and are still hunting for them.

I was also present when one of the chicks had a less than successful flight. I called Middlesex County Animal Control, and spoke to someone who had dealt with these hawks once or twice already. Their phone number is:

617-349-4376

I saw one of the chicks hanging out on the corner of Novartis' roof in Tech Square, so they're making progress.

I agree with Nicole. Having taken a beginner's course in falconry I know these are wild animals and so it is BEST we leave the kids alone or if they really are in need of assistance we call the proper authority. We risk hurting "our beautiful kids" or ourselves. I don't beleive the parents will let the kids starve, their instinct tells them how to raise their babies to be successful hunters in the wild. They have been doing it for years.

Enjoy their antics but please leave them alone to learn how to be the the Majestic RTH's they are meant to be.

I'm not an expert nor claim to be one, but shouldn't they just be left alone? They are hawks and can certainly fly even from the ground level. It may take a few tries and a couple hours, but they eventually get back to the nest. Yesterday morning I was watching as one of them was on the building just across from the nest. It had a large area to do practice runs. You could tell it wanted to be back at the nest but it hadn't worked up the courage yet. After much todo he finally made a try. Didn't make it the first time, but ultimately made it. This took about an hour and lots of aborted attempts. I would think that the same thing would apply to the hawk on the ground. I'm all for calling security to watch over them and make sure they don't get hurt or get messed with. However, I think we should let them learn to take off from the ground as this is an important lesson for them.

I can tell you that I haven't seen mom or dad with any food in 2 days (yesterday and today) and it worries me that perhaps the human smell on the baby that was "rescued" is keeping them away. I will be very relieved when I see them feeding the chicks. If the parents decide to keep their distance, I hope these little ones can learn fast how to hunt.

By the way, the Animal Protection Agency has been notified (by building management?) of the hawks and they advise that no one approach the hawks. They are a protected species.

Wednesday noonish, 6/13/2007. After they spent so much time together in the nest Tuesday morning and mid-day (on camera even!), in the afternoon they separated and at least one chick definitely spent much time below. I watched one on "roof" areas only one floor above their treed courtyard. (Has anyone seen them using these trees, as last year's chicks evidently sometimes did?) I would say it looked anxious to be elsewhere, and its efforts to relocate to highter were not successful before I needed to move on. (Michaela reports here seeing perhaps the same chick on the ground.) So I worried a lot when at dusk I could see only one chick on the nest ledge and its sibling nowhere, despite looking from many good vantage points over their several favorite local perches. Yet Wednesday morning both chicks are again "safely" up on their ledge, seemingly without benefit of our elevator rides to the roof. Surely urban dangers remain for these two, but at least as long as uninjured they must now be able to fly themselves out and up from their adventures below.

Anyone looking to help the hawks might want to look at this web page for contacts:

http://www.mass.gov/dfwele/dfw/dfw_rehab.htm

The closest people seem to be:

BOSTON ANIMAL RESCUE LEAGUE 617-426-9170

I am any on the Mass birding mailing list, and I asked who might be able to help with the hawks, and I was given the following place:

Cummings Veterinary School Wildlife Clinic in Grafton (Tufts University) - 508 839-7918.

They were the ones that worked with the Albatross that was released a little while ago. They are also listed on the above web page.

If any of the birds is actually hurt, the Animal Rescue League or the MSPCA (both in Boston) can help and both have a working relationship with the New England Wildlife Center in Weymouth.

In the case of real harm, broken wing or leg, I would call the ARL or the MSPCA. Both have ambulances for hurt creatures and will usually send someone over who can help.

Generally, once the babies have fledged, they can handle being out of the nest because they are still being fed by the parents even though they look big enough that they ought to be taking care of themselves.

However, in an urban setting, like MIT, fledging birds, especially, can get blown around more easily between buildings or end up where they don't belong (where they can't reasonably get out or be found by the parents). The best thing is to get them back near the nest and walk away and leave them alone so the parents can find them and help them along.

It's difficult--wanting to help, but needing to leave them alone for the most part.

Hi,
I was coming back from lunch just after 1pm and saw one of the birds glide into the window on the third floor of 400 tech sq. I ran over as did a couple of other people in the area to see if the chick was alright. The chick appeared a bit startled but started to move on foot at ground level. Does anyone know whether there is an organisation we can call if this happens again and the bird appears to be injured? It was really distressing to see. I work in 500 tech sq on the 9th floor, which is a good vantage point to see the nest and their ledge. A lot of people are very invested in the welfare of these chicks in our building so fingers crossed they negotiate their way.

Hi, been watching MIT hawks for last 2 yrs, both youngsers returned to the nest around 12:20 on tuesday 6/12 both appear to be healthy and flying well, I guess that have sucessfully completed aerodynamics 101 with flying colors( pun intended) great site AMPS/SAP have provided the community with a great service and wonderfull educational experience, thanks to all the hawk watchers, and Laura Culley last year for her information on Redtails.

russ d.

Well, the good news, today at least, is the "babies" appear to be flying back and forth successfully but still using the nest as their base, and both look healthy and well. Looks like we'll be able to view them for a little longer, hooray!

Tuesday morning, 6/12/2007. Yesterday was an exciting day in some ways, for one of the chicks I believe, and definitely for many of us invested in this avian family's welfare. All seems well this morning as I'll describe, but first a note. The small group of observers that I am associated with learned yesterday that there are lots folks in the local community aware of these chicks, all well-meaning, but also with differing opportunities for observation, differing levels of real or imagined "expertise", and a few with "authority" to effect outcome that may or may not be well informed by either of the former. Yesterday (Monday) what my group saw--following a night when one chick spent the night on the home building ledge just around the corner from the nest, and another (or possibly an adult, because that bird was difficult to be sure about in the dark) on the nest ledge well away from the nest--was very little presence in the area. No one here has a vantage point that affords view of all the places these active birds have been frequenting since I first noticed them free of their home ledge Saturday 6/9. Nor does anyone I know have the luxury of watching continuously. But from the time we started watching Monday my group saw very little presence around the home ledge or the close-by Sunday playground described previously. Finally, around in mid afternoon, we became aware that again a chick was at ground level and going nowhere via its wings. So again a chick was with well-intentioned caring human intervention captured and eventually--to make a very long story short--released on the higher section of the "adjacent building". (I do not believe anyone knows if this is the same chick returned to roof level Saturday. In both instances the chick(s) were rapidly covered--this appears to calm them very effectively--and there was no banding or expert photography.) When I first observed this bird back on the roof it appeared quite recovered from its recent "trauma", prancing around and flapping and eventually flying over to around the corner from the nest ledge where it then (I believe it was the recently released birds) spent the night. Before it made that move one adult could be seen perched on an even higher roof structure above it. Around 0930h Tuesday those watching the HawkCam could see BOTH chicks back in the nest (a joy to see) toying with greenery. I just wish I could see evidence of fresh meet. For my part--without knowing the wisdom of it--thanks to all who have helped us return the bird (or birds) from the ground to the rooftop. I really feel it doesn't hurt the grand scheme of things for us to help these chicks--born in perhaps not the best of places--over their initial forays into the dangers of the urban environment.

Omigod, our feathered friends are back in the nest!!!! I never thought we'd see them again!
Tuesday, June 12 10:45 a.m.

Henry - Sorry to hear about the continued problems with one of the chicks today. After watching the problems with the chicks fledging last year (hitting buildings and such), I've always felt that the nest location is not a good place for the chicks to learn how to fly and perch on trees. It would be much easier if the nest was located in a real tree (which was the case two years ago when a nest was on Mass Ave in front of MIT). At least they would have a better chance then. The mortality rate is very high for raptors in the first couple of days of trying to fledge, especially in cities. They don't know the dangers of cars and such. I talked with a hawk expert after you called me, and he told me of a case where a chick landed in a railroad track and was oblivious to the danger of a train coming. A person watching this try to shoo way the bird, without success. I wonder about the wisdom of allowing the nest to stay on that ledge, or whether it should be removed to discourage further nesting there, but I'll leave that up to hawk experts. - Mark, mrl@psfc.mit.edu

Thanks, Henry, for all the details about the young hawks' adventures out of the nest. It's wonderful to have some idea of what they've been up to. We'll all miss them, eh?

Sunday, 6/10/2007. What I've called the "adjacent building" is less than 15 meters from the nest ledge at a slightly downward glide. It provides a broad expanse of flat roof with a slightly raised edge on three sides and windows to a penthouse-like top floor on the other. Last year's chicks briefly favored that spot as well. The chick "rescued" Saturday evening and deposited there stayed until at least 0215h on this edge, perched standing, while its sibling remained in a standing perch on the nest. When first observed at about 0530h Sunday the nest chick had joined the "rescued" chick, and for almost three hours I watched them both go through a variety of behaviors and horizontal flying at their new playground, but also there was much simply standing around--without any breakfast. Observation was not continuous, but at 0810 one parent was seen carrying a bare branch, perching for only a few minutes near the chicks, depositing the branch into the nest, and gliding over the chicks before flying off. There was at least one other parental visit much later. Seen together Sunday one bird appears a bit scruffier than the other, but I really believe that seen separately, doing different behaviors, it is easy to be deceived about which is which. Some of my fellow observers disagree with me on this. But surely looking at them now nobody can be absolutely certain which was brought up from the ground floor garage. Later Sunday at least one of the chicks flew back to the nest at least once, and also one of the chicks spent time on the higher but far less expansive roof over the "penthouse". As late as 1830h they were together on a section of the lower roof that we cannot observe from a high vantage, but from below we saw some rather frantic activity that looked a bit like the food dismemberment gyrations that we've all seen on the WebCam. Perhaps lunch had been delivered, but we can't really say. Enough real flying was seen today that surely they will be truly gone soon, rightly taking their own chances in life, and we'll need to stop ourselves always worrying "where have they disappeared to?" Not easy though.

Lucky you, Henry and friends. Thanks for all your information. It has been frustrating looking at an empty nest and not being able to see the entire ledge! All I have seen is hops and wing-spreading. Please keep us informed of the chicks' progress.

Wow Henry, that's an amazing story. Unfortunately, the mortality rate for juvenile raptors in the wild is very high, between 65% - 85%. There are too many hazards these days, especially in cities. I watched some painful flying attempts last year by one of the chicks, as it tried to land on window ledges of the other buildings, where the ledges weren't big enough to land on. It finally flew up to one of the trees, where it stayed, obviously learning that trees are much safer places to be in. Hopefully these chicks will learn the same lesson soon.

Saturday afternoon/evening, 6/9/2007. We have a vantage point in a building about 150 meters from the nest, a little below nest level, and have been watching with tripod-mounted 15X binoculars as the chicks have been making their little practice flights along the nest ledge during the past several days. Late this afternoon, just a little into dusk, one chick definitely flew or glided to the roof of the closest adjacent building, which is slightly below nest level. It spent a lot of time moving back and forth along the raised border of that roof, at one point engaging in a charming hopping "pursuit" of a pair of sparrows which backtracked at a distance of about a meter as the hawk chick advanced on them. (Priceless to watch, and no damage done to the sparrows, who put up with this for quite a while before flying off.) When we began this particular observation, one adult was quietly perched about midway along the home ledge and we could not see the second chick. As we were concentrating on the chick that had moved to the adjacent building, one of us peripherally saw the second chick in what appeared to be a landing at the nest. One possibility is that this chick was very low in the nest all along (sorry, we were not simultaneously monitoring the HawkCam) and just then jumped up and went through a lot of wing stretching. But it really seemed to us instead that it too must have been on the adjacent roof (below the border ledge where we couldn't see it from our even lower level) and that what we saw peripherally was a successful return to the nest. Be that as it may, a short time later, while we were not watching, the chick definitely on the adjacent building disappeared and then could be seen nowhere. We moved up to a vantage point affording full view of the adjacent roof, but still MIA! (One adult still on the nest ledge, apparently oblivious; one chick in the nest). A search ensued, and one of us (Ledia H) eventually discovered the chick on ground level in a parking garage on the opposite side of the hawks' home building about 75 yards away--battering confusedly against a wall and then retreating to cower well inside in a secluded corner. This seemed really to be a quite hopeless position, so we picked the chick up--with only a slight defensive struggle--wrapped it fully in a cotton sweatshirt, and after about 30 minutes of negotiation with wonderfully cooperative security personnel managed to release it on the roof from which it had made its unfortunate downward flight. It seemed intact upon release and quickly jumped from the roof back onto the border ledge. By this time it was quite dark. We can only hope that it stays put till dawn.

Talk about reverse juvenile behavior. Here, the mother wants the kids to leave the nest, but they don't want to! It's time for them to graduate with the other MIT students today. :)

Well I take back my comments from yesterday, at least one of them is making it off the ledge to the other windows. This morning one was as far down the building as you can go. I would suspect that they will be flying in the next couple days.

One of the parents flew in with twigs but no food. If the chicks get hungry enough, they will take off.

Does anyone know if these are the same Red Tail Hawks that hover around Fenway Park? I am there pretty frequently and almost always see a Red Tail circling around, especially in the early evening.

Hi All,
The chicks are not flying yet. The ledge they are on is long and spans 5 windows before they hit a wall so they have lots of running room. What they do is flap and run which causes them to catch air and float into the nest. Neither of them has actually made it off the ledge the nest is on.

Also, now that they are getting bigger a good way to tell them from the parents is the tail feathers. The parents tail feathers are red and the chicks are brown. They won't get the red feathers for a couple years.

Happy viewing. Sorry there isn't another camera angle to get all this!

Nicole

It appears that one chick is flying while the other is content to hang out in the nest. Is this the case, or is it simply perched out of site on the building ledge? A second camera on the facing building would be great!

BTW: KUDOS to all involved with this site...my son (9) & I have enjoyed watching the 'kids' grow up.

One of the chicks just flew onto the ledge and then back into the nest. Either that, or it did long jumps.

From the bottom of a dedicated bird person's heart, thank you for a thrilling spring.

http://puleston.osprey.bnl.org/OspreyFund/ospreycam.php

As our babies are almost ready to fly away and I am getting that old empty nest feeling, I found this site.
Here is an Osprey cam that has 2 babies, just a week old and one egg left to hatch.

Hugs, Kristine

Both of the "kids" are there this Sunday morning waiting for food. They seem very close to being ready to fly, perhaps in a couple of days after the coming rain ends. Unfortunately, unlike last year, I'll be stuck in my office all day, so I won't be able to watch. :(

Will the camera follow them when they fledge? One year, I remember seeing them fly down and settle on students' bicycles, while testing their wings, before they left the nest for good.

Where are the RTHawks?

I saw one of the babies eating something the other day that looked like the sibling? Are both of the young hawks ok ?

Are the babies actually flying now?

She staked her Feather--Gained an Arc--
Debated--Rose again--
This time--beyond the estimate
Of Envy or of Men

And now among Circumference--
Her steady Boat be seen--
At home--among the Billows--As
The Bough where she was born--

Emily Dickinson, #798

There are several theories about the greenery. One was given by a hawk expert last year, is that it functions as an antiparasite. The other theory is simply as you suggest, that it's nest maintenance. For me, this theory makes the most sense, since the parents keep bringing greenery even after the chicks have left the nest. A study showed that nests with greenery are more likely to be reused again, probably because they need the least amount of work to rebuild them the next year.

I was on vacation last week, didn't have a chance to check in - they've grown SO big!! :-)

Wondering if anyone knows what the deal is with the greenery that's now in the nest? My droll co-worker says they're redecorating :-) But really, do the hawks use it for anything? New padding? the nest does appear to be getting a bit tamped down!

this is the second year i'm following the hawk cam - fantastic idea, whomever thought of it! thanks for sharing this with all of us. one question - have been trying to connect the last couple of days and the .RAM file relays a 'down for maintenance message'. will the stream be up again soon?

This is truly mind blowing!! I CAN'T THANK SAP/AMPS enough for going to the trouble of making this available for all to see. As a friend said, it is a true privilige to be privvy to this :-)! What magnificent birds--this is far better than any nature show I've ever seen.

THANK YOU SO VERY MUCH!

(Only problem is my work has suffered as a result :-)!!)

Unfortunately, this is the time when we really could use a camera facing the building, to see the whole ledge where the kids are. While they have a nice long ledge to move around on, last year one of the kids was very reluctant to try flying, and I wonder whether it was because of that nice area they have to hang out on. :)

Angie, thanks for the link to the peregrine falcon chicks. They're great. This morning, I settled down in front of the hawk cam with my morning toast and, seeing no hawklets and only an unappetizing rat, immediately changed "stations."

Well, by 8:25 am I see the two chicks are preening and doing fine in the nest after seeing empty nest several minutes ago. I should have read earlier posts to see that they walk about on ledge off the nest, out of camera's eye. Glad to see all is well.

I am not seeing any chicks this morning, Monday 8:10 am. Just what looks like a mouse, dead. Saw Mom land for a minute. Don't think the chicks were ready to fledge were they????

I don't know why, but in order for me to get it to work from a mac, I had to follow the instructions of saving the Real Player link to a file on the desktop, and then double clicking on that file.

Yes, Mark, I do have the latest version, 10.1 for Mac.
It worked fine before!
Ann

Hey All,

I live in Derby UK and we have a pair of Peregrine Falcons nesting on our cathedral. They have two chicks that hatched 10 days ago, you should take a look http://195.224.106.202/peregrine/webcam.htm

We just LOVE these chicks! It's SO amazing how we're able to see this!!
Thank you!

I'm having no problems with real player at home. Do you have the latest version installed?

I also haven't been able to see anything since May 5--my RealPlayer just says, Loading 0%. Worked fine before that. Miss seeing the hawks growing!
Ann

cool site

I often see a full-grown hawk (parent, or one of last year's babies?) hovering over the eastern end of the MIT campus -- Bldgs 56, 66, or perched on the top of the Green Building. I also pretty frequently see rats scuttling along the edge of buildings on Ames St. I'd bet that's one hunting ground, anyway. It's cool to see the hawks back in the same spot this year -- I spotted bits of the nest from the ground, and thought it might be last year's until checking on the cam and finding the new babies. Yay!

Hi,

I haven't been able to view anything on this site since Saturday 5 May. Up until that point I had no problem. Does this make sense?

Just logged in while on a trip to France. Soooo relieved and happy to see that everyone is well (actually, I can only see one chick right now, but it's better than the blank screen I had before leaving BOS yesterday!).
A big big thank you to the MIT crew that is providing these awesome images to all of us and our children.
Catherine

Thanks Nicole *breathing a sigh of relief* you are a star, thanks for explaining!!
We will continue to watch them grow up now!!

Angie
Derby
UK

Sorry for the stress! The chicks are fine and so are mom and dad. They often walk out of the nest and along the ledge. They like to peek in at us while we work.

The parents don't stay in the nest as much but they are always close. They do still feed them as the chicks don't have the strength to rip apart the food. Mom will also provide the shade of her wings on bright sunny days. Today (Tuesday) it's overcast and raining so she'll not be there much. Hope that helps!

Nicole

Hey guys!

Can you tell us the chicks are ok? We've been watching them avidly here in the UK. When we logged on earlier we saw there was nothing in the nest, not even mom! I've just tried to log on again and now we're being told the webcam doesn't exist!!!
Please put us out of our misery soon.

Angie
Derby
UK

A thousand thanks, you guys-- we can get back to work now, while keeping an eye on the chicks!
\k

Hi you guys--
It's 12:30 pm on Monday, 5/15, and we've been getting some fairly serious error messages while trying to connect to hawkcam, such as the link/site no longer exists.

Is everything okay in the MIT red tail nursery? In amps cyberland? We here in EECS are very worried that something might have happened to the chicks or the nest.

Thanks--
\Katrina

Hi Carole,
Unfortunately you can't see much from the ground so gawkers wouldn't be a problem.

The chicks are getting to that curiosity stage. They are not sleeping as much and they are moving around much more. They are getting their feathers now and going into that gawky, ugly stage. They will start walking up and down the ledge soon and will be off camera alot.

Seems like this year they are growing so much faster! Time flies for these little ones.

Hi.

I am not able to see the hawk cam off-campus with Real Player (and a cable connection) and enjoyed it much last year.

Deborah

Hey Lynne

As the chicks get older they leave the nest more often. They are on a ledge and they tend to walk down it to check out the world and stretch their legs. I don't think the birds fall off things very often or the parents would not lay their eggs up so high. So don't worry, the babies will be fine.

After watching this site---I have become a fan of the Red-Tail Hawk---ENJOY watching the chicks too!!!--Just watched Natsha hatching!!--AWESOME!

Whoops --the second chick is back! What a relief!

I'm checking this out at 9:30am this morning and it looks like only one chick is now in the nest being fed (both were there an hour ago). I wonder if the other one has fallen, has been pushed out...or I'm just not seeing the whole nest....?

They are on the 400 building. The courtyard (grass and seating areas) is right below the nest. You can't see them very well from the ground however. You can see the twigs that hang over the edge, but that is about it.

I think they are asking people *not* to post about the exact location of the nest. For the hawks' continued comfort and safety, it's a good idea to minimize gawkers (that is, gawkers outside the camworld).

On what building is the nest perched? The surroundings (before the cam was adjusted) don't look familiar to me.

How wonderful to see this site up and running.

i'll be checking in way too much......

Poor long suffering mommy bird. Protecting her young from the hot sun.

Wow. How the babes have changed in just a few days.

I just got back from a 5-day trip and immediately check onn the hawks. I noticed that the nest seems to have tipped - and is that water I see. The family seems to be pressed for space.

Please know that Red-tailed Hawks are territorial and creatures of habit. They mate for life. The male might appear to be less attentive as the nest appears unsupervised as you do not see him on the cam - but he will not leave a nest with flightless young unattended. Males will guard their nest even against a bald eagle. The female is probably a great hunter as well, but it has been found while observing a nesting pair, that the male actually "nest-sits" so that the female can hunt for herself and just have some time away from the nest. Thus the reason why she will return to the nest without a kill. If you are ever strolling Killian Court at MIT - keep an eye out - as they have been know to swoop down and scoop up lunch!

I work in a building about a quarter mile from the nest. The hawks sometimes land on our building to survey the surroundings. Last year, dad rested on top of a nearby building with a squirrel in his talons. He then swooped around the corner of the building where he lives and seconds later he was ripping the squirrel apart and feeding the kids live on the hawk cam. Awesome!

Yes, the hawk with white spot on her head is the female. I have no idea where they catch the rats/mice/birds. Unfortunately I only see the results, not the catch itself. I'd love to see that. As public as these birds are they keep their hunting grounds private.

The male is the better hunter as he almost always returns with food, while the female has come back "empty handed" many times. So the arrangement is good. The male also has less patience with all of us gawkers and the cameras. He tends to get peeved with us and fly off.

If you ever see the nest unattended (chicks alone) it's probably a time when "Dad" was supposed to be watching the kids.

Despite that, he's a darn good provider and keeps those hungry chicks well fed.

7 yr old: We loved seeing little cute Natasha hatching from her little cute egg. And we loved watching the "graduation" of the 2004 hawks.

10 yr old: I liked the clip of Natasha and the music that went with it.

Thanks for these clips! Better than TV!

We just posted a video clip of Natasha Hatching, check it out at: techtv.mit.edu/file/74/

Question. Can anyone tell me if the hawk with the white spot on the back of its head is the male or the female? I suspect it is the female, as it rarely leaves the nest. This birds dedication to its young is amazing. I assume that most of the rats being brought in are caught along the river running next to the campus? Nicole, Elaine,anyone? Thanks, Tom.

This is one of the greatest services provided by MIT, in my not-at-all-humble opinion! :-)

Seems the camera's been knocked a bit askew however (a bit less "nest-view" and a bit more "street/building view") - possible to re-position?

When the babies get a little bigger and are moving around, it wil be easier to tell which is which. The females are larger than the males.

I see the babes are having a lovely brunch of "rat dujour"

tim, the page should walk you right thru. for myself, i click on realplayer for a free download, and then on the first of two links offered (cable/dsl connection) cam should come right up!

Elaine,
As far as I can see there is no way to tell who is who. Also, I don't think they really know if one is a boy and one is a girl. I believe that is just a guess on the part of the "namer". I think (and I'm also just guessing) that the more aggressive of the two was probably born first. Although the "younger" one has caught up in size so it's much harder to tell now. I'm not much help this time, sorry!

Nicole

I work with a Boris from MIT. He is a great like most MIT’ers; he is as sharp as a whip (and has a suave appearance). I only find it difficult working with him during molting time - Pluey! I have to keep a shop-vac at my desk when that time of year rolls around.

Last year there was access to some archival footage. Would love to see the eggs hatching. Any chance that can be put on the page as a link, or as the "off-air" space filler? THANKS.

To Tim: If you don't have realplayer, click on that first. If you do, just click on "220k webcast."

How can you tell which is Boris and which is Natasha? In other words, can you tell which is male and which is female? Thanks.

How do I get to watch the webcam?

You are so right Nicole, the babies have grown alot in a few days. It's amazing how quickly they grow up.

Wow! I don't know if you can tell on the webcam, but the babies have doubled in size from last week. Last week they were the size of the palm of my hand. Today they would barely fit in both of my hands. I guess the rat/pigeon diet is great for quick growth!

"Does anyone know how 'our' babes did this winter?"

I don't know how they did in winter but last summer, after the webcam and forum had closed, I saw one of the fledglings hopping and flying around Jarvis Field on the Harvard campus. :)

The multicast looks terrific! I've been watching it and the detail is amazing!

I have followed your webcam coverage of these beautiful birds since you started the site a few years ago. I check their progress every day - it is such a joy to watch. I see many adult redtails here in Rhode Island - and, on occasion, when unknowingly passing too close to a nest, up very, very close - but never chicks or "family life". I love your choice of names this years. Thank you for providing this up-close view of nature in action.

Just wanted to thank AMPS and SAP for providing this stream and to let you know how great it is..Not sure the boss will agree as production has been greatly reduced since finding this site. Warning!! This site is highly addicting!! We have lots of Red-Tails here in West Virginia, but I have never seen a nest this close. Thanks also to Nicole for the info..

Philip,
I am not an expert on birds at all, but I do have a very close relationship with these particular Red-Tailed Hawks. They've nested on this ledge for 3 years running. They eat small rodents (rats, mice, the occasional squirrel) and small-ish birds. A couple days ago they had a pigeon, which is bigger than they normally get.

This couple tends to lay 2 eggs (all 3 years they have had 2 eggs) but I've read they can have anywhere from 2-5 eggs. The eggs hatch in about a month (this year egg 1 was 36 days and egg 2 was ~34 days). Both parents sit on the eggs during this time. Although Mom has more patience than the Dad and will sit on them for longer periods.

After they hatch the parents will almost always be at the nest with them until they are a bit older. Then they will leave them in the nest, but not be far off. Usually they are in sight of the nest.

Feel free to ask other questions. I can't answer with authority on Red-Tailed hawks in general, but I can answer on what I've observed about this particular pair.

Thanks!
Nicole

to philip -- I mostly only know about hawks what I learned (and remember!) from last year's MIT hawkcam, but here's one of the many useful sites with info. http://www.desertusa.com/aug96/du_hawk.html
Keep checking these posts and you're sure to learn tons!

Unable to view webcast although I have downloaded Real Player into my Win98 SecondEdition Dell PC. Can you help? Thanks! VF

I am glad the hawks are back again. I enjoyed our time together so much last year.

Does anyone know how "our" babes did this winter?

Will the webcam be fixed so that we can see them?
Thanks,
Blossom

hi ive just seen your cam on red tailed hawks
name philip live in cwmbran south wales can anyone tell me info on what they eat and breeding and such all help greatly recieved philip

Aw! At least I can view the nest from work; no issues! There's another eagle cam in VA; quite impressive I might add. Occasionally they'll zoom in and out. The banding of the chicks was interesting to watch. They should be leaving the nest at the end of May.
http://www.wvec.com/cams/eagle.html

REAL PLAYER DOESN'T WORK ON MY COMPUTERS. CAN YOU STREAM IT USING SOMETHING ELSE--ANYTHING ELSE!!

There is also an eagle cam in Turner Falls, MA.
There are two eaglets in the nest now.

www.firstlightpower.com/eagles/live/default.asp

Paul

Please ignore my previous message; the cam was hidden behind the window I was writing from. Yayyy! You guys are back and in full swing.
Many thanks for all you do,
Marty

Still trying to get a glimpse of the new family. None of the links to cams works for me. I have a DSL connection and got this cam just fine last year. What's up? And thanks!

guys, you repositioned the camera and it's much harder to see the chicks now

While I can't view the hawks via the Real Player either, I have a wonderful view outside my window. They have roosted here for 3 years running and this is their 2nd successful hatching. We love to watch them and tend to get very little work done. Enjoy these beautiful birds as they raise these cute (for now) chicks!

Nicole

I am able to bring up real player, but only get a static picture. The timer clicks off seconds, but no change in picture. COuld you please tell me what is wrong. Love your site. Have followed them for two years, this is the third. Please respond so that I can do this agian.

Number Two seems to have hatched sometime in the past 30 minutes or so...!

The second hawk cracked open the egg at approximately 5:20 PM on Friday April 20. We were lucky enough to capture the moment on videotape and we will make this footage available as soon as possible.

Finally !!! I've been waiting for the hawk cam for a month !! Sadly I am unable to view it... I repeatedly get this message from realplayer... rtsp://mit-only.mit.edu/encoder/hawkcam-2007-220k.rm... any ideas to enable me to view the hawk-cam? thanks !

Am unable to view webcast, even though I have Real Player. Is this just my error?

I have also been checking daily; glad to see it's back, although RP stinks and I can't view Baby Boris :(

So glad to see you and the hawks are back!

I've been looking in every day and thought that the parents found a different nesting site, but brave as they are, they came back to this precarious ledge!

Great to see MIT hawks again. Is there going to be a full discussion board for this one?