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Peregrine Falcon
WALDORF-ASTORIA HOTEL (PARK AVENUE)
Image by BEN CACACE
(Click image for a larger view)
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Peregrine Falcon
MUTUAL OF AMERICA BUILDING (320 PARK AVE.)
Image by BEN CACACE
(Click image for a larger view)
Recently I spotted some activity over Park Ave. that suggests there may be some nesting in the area north of the Met Life Building.
On March 21st I watched a Peregrine Falcon circling over Park Ave. while I was heading back to work. I followed it to a perch just below the roof of a building. A few openings away from this Peregrine was a second falcon perched on the same level just below the fencing.
Over the next few minutes the Peregrines were seen perched side-by-side with one of them entering the opening and then leaving the site with something in its talons. The whole time spent observing was no more than 20 minutes.
Tonight I stopped by the site to see if there was any activity that could lead to a definitive nest location. Five minutes after settling in I spotted both falcons heading north. The male was in the lead followed by the female. This occurred around 5:10p.
Watching Peregrine Falcons is mainly a waiting game. When I was at the site the day after first spotting the pair it took 4 outings before I saw any activity.
Tonight, after the 5:10p sighting, I waited for 40 minutes before a Peregrine returned to the area. It circled and perched on 320 Park Ave. (the ‘Mutual of America’ building) between 51st and 52nd St. After 5 minutes it flew east to the west tower of the Waldorf-Astoria Hotel which is a huge building.
It remained on this perch for 35 minutes. When it left at 6:33p it took the same path as the pair did when I saw them heading north at 5:10p.
I left the area at 6:45p.
The photos were taken with a 420mm (35mm equivalent) lens, hand held with image stabilization. A larger lens mounted on tripod should pull in some nice photos.
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Circumzenithal Arc — 5:15p EDT
MANHATTAN OVER PARK AVE.
Image by BEN CACACE
(Click image for a larger view)
The image above is a circumzenithal arc (CZA) I took this evening. The image was shot at 5:15p. The internal clock on the camera was not adjusted for Daylight Saving Time in case you can see the EXIF information.
The altitude of the Sun at the time of the photo was a bit over 21°. The greatest brilliancy for a CZA is when the altitude of the Sun is 22° which was 5 minutes earlier. CZAs cannot form when the altitude of the Sun is 32° or higher. I wish I took down the time when the CZA disappeared but my focus was on the falcons. An hour before the photo was taken was when the Sun was 32° above the horizon.
Some references for circumzenithal arcs: