Nest Scouting (All Over Town)

Between April 1st and yesterday (4/5) I covered a lot of territory on my bike, scouting for raptor nests. After stopping at my work in Englewood NJ I stumbled upon the Tenafly woods which are divided from the Greenbrook Sanctuary by the Palisades Parkway. I leaned my bike on a tree in the woods just below as slope to the grade of 9W and followed a northbound trail marked by blazes and flagging. The trail bedding was soft, not overly eroded. Observing the under-story I could appreciate the obvious lack of invasive plants. All the flora was still brown or gray accept for some mosses. Tenafly woods: Golden-crowned Kinglet, Northern Flicker, Black-capped Chickadee, Tufted Titmouse, etc. The trails of the park lead me in a loop within the perimeter of the woods. When I reached my bike again I had walked about 1 miles distance. Passing the fake-tree cellphone tower on 9W I stopped to view the top of the tower through binoculars. The nest at the top seems to be constructed of large sticks. When I got back on my bike I spotted an Osprey perched nearby. Now I believe this nest to be an Osprey nest. When I arrived at the headquarters for Palisades Park, for the first time I headed south along the cliff-top trail. From the lookouts and ruins above the Alpine Marina I spotted a Peregrine perched below the cliff edge, on a hanging snag. Farther south the Peregrine Nest Box juts out into view, about 30 ft below the cliff-edge. The ruins area and south towards Greenbrook provide good habitat from Great Horned Owl nests and nest sightings have been reported there in the past. The woods withheld all evidence of owls from me, on this day. I paid close attention to the cliff faces when I had views. GHOs are known to nest in cliff habitat. The scouting lured me further south. The edge of Greenbrook alluded me and I had to turn around at about 4:45pm. The River Road Bald Eagle nest nest held a small eaglet. The eaglet stretched wings and hopped about the nest as the mother Eagle flew about to different perches within sight of the nest. Was the mother displaying the possibility of flight to her eaglet? South in the Greenbrook, southern section area on River Road a Peregrine perched below the cliff edge, within view from the lower road. I made it up to Riverdale around 7pm to check on the potential GHO nest I had discovered the day before. With full darkness setting in, no owl activity observed, I biked back to Inwood and walked south, up Clove Road. At the second intersection from the north I heard the GHO call descend from the treetops on the east ridge. I looped back to the east ridge road and located the owl. The GHO changed perches three or four times, calling in different directions, mostly into the Clove while also swiveling his head at sights and sounds coming from the surrounding city. The owl called vigorously for over an hour. Exhausted and satisfied from being in the presence of the owl I left as the continuing hoots faded into the darkness. On Saturday I scouted Van Cortlandt Park with the group of volunteers organized by Parks. Katie Leung shared some info on previous Woodlawn GHO nest sight. No new nests discovered by the groups in Van Cortlandt. I biked back to Riverdale Woods. No GHO activity observed, though the pellet from Thursday looked weathered, leading me to believe on Thursday it was fresh. Yesterday (Monday 4/5) I checked the hollow again. Maybe there were more feathers but can't confirm. I felt on the back of the hollow a faint reflection could be seen, cast by the owls brown feathers. I might be reaching. Two rangers came up the road as I was leaving. They were en route to check the potential nest. "It's a very deep cavity."