There was much flying between Bobby and Violet on Thanksgiving in Washington Square Park. Many park-goers absolutely loved seeing them and asked all about them.
Bobby:
A Yellow-bellied Sapsucker dive-bombed Bobby and chirped loudly in protestation at his presence. I don’t even think Bobby flinched one iota:
Bobby sat for about half an hour between perches.
He made a go at something sitting on a hedge across the street from the park but didn’t catch it:
He swooped around and went to his Judson Memorial Church perch:
He then flew to buildings to the east:
He disappeared out of sight so I took in a few minutes to enjoy the singing of nearby starlings:
I walked to the east to see if I could spot a hawk. Violet landed on a building just as I was passing by so I stayed put to see where she would go next:
She hunted for a spell but I don’t think she caught anything:
Violet flew away from the park and was out of sight for a while. Within a couple of minutes, I spotted Bobby again. This time, he had food:
He either ate the prey quickly or left it somewhere for Violet because I didn’t see him eat it as I followed him about.
Violet was back in the park:
She looked so much like Bobby, I mistook her for him at first.
She was watching Bobby in his new tree several feet away:
She flew toward him and nearly touched him when passing his branch.
Violet:
Empire State Building in the background:
Roost in the background:
She flew into the park again:
Bobby trailed her:
At this point, both hawks were flying around together.
Violet:
Bobby:
There was a lot of action at this point between the two hawks. Bobby landed on a low building across the street from the park. Violet rushed toward him and met him there. I believe he must have dropped food off for her at that location because she soon flew to the other side of the park to eat and I did not see her hunt and kill anything between perches.
Violet ate her meal on a building top. It served as a wider table than a branch. In a tree, she’d struggle to balance and eat at the same time because of her injured leg.
It was a relief for me personally to see him provide for her since she can’t hunt and kill prey easily. Seeing her eat was exciting because I hadn’t seen her enjoy a meal in a couple of weeks and I was wondering how she was managing to get regular meals with her disability. It being Thanksgiving added to my happiness:
Although her dinner table was wider than a branch, she still had trouble balancing:
Bobby went to bed in the night-time roost while Violet finished her meal. She flew to the building top across the street after eating and stayed there. She did not join him for the night but was certainly nearby.
Bobby in the roost:
