The three red-tailed hawk chicks in their nest in an archway of Lyman Hall, as seen from the University’s Hawk Nest Cam located on Hinds Hall.
The new pan-tilt-zoom (PTZ) hawk nest camera installed in January 2020 has moved from the roof of the Life Science Complex to Hinds Hall through the generosity of Anne Marie Patti Higgins ’76, G’90, who established Syracuse University’s Red-Tailed Hawk Nest Cam in 2017. Higgins donated the equipment in memory of her husband, Thomas L’67, an avid birdwatcher.
The new location provides live video of the nest activities of adult hawks SU-Sue and Otto, and their three hawk chicks that hatched in late April. The adult pair of red-tailed hawks has been building nests in the archways of Lyman Hall since 2012. After eight years on the east side, the pair built their nest on the west side of the building this season. Plans to move the new PTZ camera to the west side archway were halted in early March due to COVID-19. On June 3, the new PTZ camera was installed on Hinds Hall with a diagonal view of the nest so the chicks wouldn’t be disturbed.
“This new location will provide a live view of the hawk chicks as they continue to grow and fledge in the coming few weeks,” Higgins says. “The new nest location and COVID-19 forced us to improvise, but I’m happy to be able to provide the campus community and the world an opportunity to view this family once again.”
In addition to funding the live streaming video, Higgins chronicles the hawk’s daily activities on her Facebook page: Red-Tailed Hawk Tales.
