Red-tailed Hawk landing on nest, Bobst Library, NYU, New York City

Close encounters with Violet and Bobby – November 5, 2011

Saturday was full of fun watching Bobby flying, hunting, eating, and interacting with Violet. They eventually spent the night together roosting in the same tree. It was wonderful to see the couple fly to each other and vocalize and tuck in together.

Bobby was seen as soon as I came upon Washington Square Park:

He flew to a building top near Judson Memorial Church:

It wasn’t long before he entered the park:

Bold, silly squirrel:

Bobby seen flying above the center lamp post en route to a tree:

Down the hatch (the tail is always the trickiest to get down):

Violet showed up on the scene. She perched atop a building near Bobby’s location in the park:

Another mouse catch to eat:

Bobby flies up after spending some time hunting in the grass:

Violet flew from one building perch to another. This time, she settled on a terrace wall at the lower building to the left of One Fifth Avenue (a tall apartment building Bobby likes to perch upon at times):

After several minutes, Violet flew to the tree Bobby was perched in. She called out to him just before touching down. Violet is on the upper branch in the photo below:

Bobby departs for a few minutes:

Bobby in flight to another perch:

Violet:

Bobby on yet another perch. This time, he’s seen just leaving a branch to the left of the lamp:

Bobby joined Violet. He is on the branch to the left, she on the lower branch on the right. Sorry I couldn’t get a sharper image of them together:

At this point, my camera battery died. Violet flew to another tree further north. Bobby joined her in the new tree after a few minutes. They settled onto their respective branches and didn’t move again for the rest of my stay. It was clear they were tucked in for the night. I turned on my camera again in the hopes my battery had just a little more juice and luckily, it did. I managed to take a couple of shots of the tree they were seated in. Trust me, there are two hawks in this tree:

Bobby is the figure in the upper left-hand corner of the photo below. Violet is on the branch on the lower right:

It was a great day of hawk-watching and I was so charmed to see the two red-tails together so much.


« Older post Newer post »