Hawkwatch at the Franklin Institute

Good news and better news! Mom definitely has a mate in T3, and they are nesting. The only disappointment is that the nest is not on the window ledge at the Franklin Institute. It's in a tree alo...

http://sunnydixie.blogspot.com/2015/03/mom-is-back-in-nesting-business.html

Though 2014 did not have an active nest at the Franklin Institute, and to the best of the hawkstalkers' knowledge Mom did not have a nest anywhere this spring, or even a settled mate, I am so hap...

http://sunnydixie.blogspot.com/2014/12/mom-and-t3-its-looking-hopeful.html

Sad as we are over the loss of T2, the onward, inevitable cycle of nature means that events are moving fast for Mom. References to Cougar Town and The Bachelor seem appropriate with the appearanc...

http://sunnydixie.blogspot.com/2014/03/is-mom-cougar.html

We heard the saddest news today. Earlier this week, Amtrak workers in the train yards near 30th Street station found a dead hawk on the tracks. Because T2 has not been seen since last Sunday, it...

http://sunnydixie.blogspot.com/2014/03/t2-is-gone.html

What are the Franklin Institute hawks up to?  And where are they going to build their nest?  We are no further along this week in understanding whether they will return to their old nest on the...

http://sunnydixie.blogspot.com/2014/03/curiouser-and-curiouser.html

Love is definitely in the air as Mom and T2 soar together near the Franklin Institute, enjoying the rare sun and blue sky amid the endless snow storms of the apocalyptic winter we've experienced...

http://sunnydixie.blogspot.com/2014/03/love-is-definitely-in-airbut.html

As 2013 comes to an end, I'm happy to tell you that Mom and T2 are healthy and clearly still a couple.  Dinko Mitic caught them soaring together about three weeks ago. No longer the raggedy molt...

http://sunnydixie.blogspot.com/2013/12/hawk-news-at-turn-of-year.html

It's great to share the wonderful news posted yesterday on the Franklin Hawkaholic facebook page by Michele Wellard at the Schuylkill Wildlife Rehabilitation Clinic: "I'm happy to report that t...

http://sunnydixie.blogspot.com/2013/08/peanut-safely-back-in-sky.html

Peanut's recovery continues under the good care of Rick Schubert and Michele Wellard at the Schuylkill Wildlife Rehabilitation Clinic. On August 14, hawk fans were delighted to read this update f...

http://sunnydixie.blogspot.com/2013/08/peanut-is-now-flying.html

I am delighted to report that Peanut (F1) continues to recover from his trauma from most likely being hit by a car. He is in his twelfth day of ICU rehab at the Schuylkill Wildlife Rehabilitation...

http://sunnydixie.blogspot.com/2013/08/peanuts-recovery-continues.html

I am so happy to report that F1 is making significant progress in his rehab after some scary days when it was not certain that he would make it.  Hawkfans universally refer to him as Peanut bec...

http://sunnydixie.blogspot.com/2013/08/finally-some-happy-news_6.html

This is not the post I planned to write on my return from a summer trip to Saratoga Springs. I have started this four times, and you will see why. When I left, the two remaining juvies, F1 and ...

http://sunnydixie.blogspot.com/2013/07/the-sad-news-just-keeps-coming.html

After Wednesday's sadness, it was a relief yesterday morning to find F3 (left) and F1 sitting together on a lamp pole.             Dinko Mitic T2 was nearby on the Franklin Institut...

http://sunnydixie.blogspot.com/2013/07/the-day-after-hawk-life-goes-on.html

Such a sadness to report....  At 1:20pm today, F2 - the formel twin - flew hard into a window at the Moore College of Art and died from the impact.  A nearby construction worker reported this n...

http://sunnydixie.blogspot.com/2013/07/we-have-lost-hawk.html

Many hawkfans have expressed concern on how the young hawks will handle the sights and sounds of the huge Welcome America celebrations in Philadelphia on the Fourth of July, most of which are bas...

http://sunnydixie.blogspot.com/2013/07/hawks-will-be-just-fine-on-fourth-of.html

The past week has been incredibly busy at the Franklin Institute nest. All three eyasses have fledged and are flying confidently around the neighborhood, gobbling up their parents' food drops. ...

http://sunnydixie.blogspot.com/2013/07/and-two-more-successful-fledges.html

In the midst of the excitement of the first fledge, I sent John Blakeman the pictures I took yesterday of #3's ankles and feet just before s/he fledged, to see if John could determine the gender...

http://sunnydixie.blogspot.com/2013/06/extra-3-is-tiercel.html

The short version: at 4:50pm on Thursday, June 20, the first eyass fledged from the Franklin Institute nest, and much to all hawkwatchers' surprise, it was #3.  He flew first to the portico roof...

http://sunnydixie.blogspot.com/2013/06/and-last-shall-be-first-3-is-first-to.html

Any day now, the eyasses will fledge from the nest.              Pamela Dimeler As with all other milestones, these hawks stick closely to their timeline, and in previous years, it ha...

http://sunnydixie.blogspot.com/2013/06/fasten-your-seat-belts-hawkwatchers.html

Happy Father's Day to T2!            Pamela Dimeler What a privilege it is to share these gorgeous images of T2 and his eyasses from Joe Debold, Pamela Dimeler, and Scott Kemper. ...

http://sunnydixie.blogspot.com/2013/06/happy-fathers-day-to-t2.html

The eyasses are now old enough for their gender to be differentiated by the size of their tarsal bones.  John Blakeman analyzed the structure of the tarsals (ankles in humans) of the two old...

http://sunnydixie.blogspot.com/2013/06/we-have-at-least-one-formel-and-one.html

We are in the midst of a heatwave in Philadelphia with several days now of temperatures in the 90s.  The eyasses definitely feel the heat, and pant to keep cool.           Kay Meng The...

http://sunnydixie.blogspot.com/2013/06/sssteamy-hot-in-philadelphia.html

Apologies for the gap in postings - administering AP exams, and end of the school year activities have kept me on the run - but I hope the extraordinary images I am sharing will make up for the d...

http://sunnydixie.blogspot.com/2013/05/up-very-close-and-personal-with-eyasses.html

On Mother's Day, let's celebrate the wonderful Franklin Institute hawk mother, Mom, raising her fifth successive brood of three eyasses.  Kay Meng took these pictures last Thursday (May 9) from ...

http://sunnydixie.blogspot.com/2013/05/tribute-to-great-hawk-mother.html

Eat, sleep, grow is the sum total of the eyasses' activities these days. Every day, they visibly grow bigger.  Here they are today (Saturday, May 11) with #1 and #2 getting a mid-morning snack ...

http://sunnydixie.blogspot.com/2013/05/eat-sleep-grow-repeat.html