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Christo and Dora were renovating their nest this morning, as this photo via EVG reader Mark Cyr shows.
As Mark notes, "They have been putting a lot of work into this nest lately, hopefully it will be full this spring."
[F]or the last two years, they have begun the task in October, so maybe they like to get ahead. Christo and Dora are a well-bonded pair, and projects like this serve to reinforce their partnership.
Or, maybe they're just bored!
The tree itself is strong and can be easily defended from squirrels. The cross at St Brigid's church is a perfect perch for the hawks, giving them a good view of the nest and surrounding area. We won't know what their real plans are until January or February, but based on their past behavior, these hawks look pretty serious about this location.
Sadly I don't have a photo, but I spotted a hawk, hopefully Christo or Dora, flying out of Tompkins with nesting materials in his talons. He was headed toward the library on East 10th between A and B and appeared to land in that general area. Maybe a new nest location on a building in the vicinity??
I guess we'll see!
If the co-op owner, management company or a construction crew had a legitimate reason to remove the nest, their recent actions haven't dissuaded the hawks from moving. So, will the building just torture the hawks by removing the nesting materials each week until spring? That certainly would be cruel.
Let's hope that either the building is forced to let the hawks continue nesting on the Christodora House or if the hawks are to be evicted, that old nest site is properly prepared so the hawks begin to find an alternate nesting location as soon as possible.
Christo and Dora seem to be back in nest mode. The past day or so they've been carrying sticks and such to shore up the nest (same one as last year, on top of the A/C unit). This morning they were both hanging out in the nest.
They've both been hanging around the nest area, so it's good to know they're back at it. Interesting that Dora is helping out. She did all the supervising last year, while Christo would cut the sticks, then get her approval before taking them over to the nest. She didn't like one of his choices and kicked it out of the tree when he presented it to her.