Rosie flew to a small patch of brush and trees a city block south from the park at one point during my visit with the Washington Square Park hawks today. Because she perched in low branches of trees on the busy street corner, large crowds gathered around her and folks got close to her to take photos with their small cameras and camera phones. We had to ask people to back away from her a few times while she was on the ground in the brush so she could hunt undisturbed. They had been crowding pretty close around her.
My visit started with Bobby being seen on the cross:
Rosie in the park:
A few pigeons making way for her:
She joined Bobby:
Bobby is on the right:
Rosie flew to another perch:
Bobby stayed behind:
She then flew a block south of the park:
A person taking a close-up photo of her:
Another close-up:
One of the peregrine falcons on a regular perch a bit further south:
She caught and ate a mouse after a crowd left which was good so she could eat in peace while on the ground.
One woman stopped in her tracks in surprise at the sight of Rosie but respectfully moved on to let her eat:
She flew back to the park:
Bobby was still on the cross:
Rosie flew overhead and closer to Bobby:
Rosie flew to a couple of perches before entering the nest:
She then left the nest to join Bobby:
Rosie on the left:
Bobby then flew to the nest:
He returned to the cross after a minute:
Rosie flew to the park to hunt while Bobby flew to a regular building perch overlooking the eastern side of the park:
He moved to another perch:
Rosie:
Bobby flew further north:
Rosie:
She flew west and to low shrubbery where rats and mice are known to infest:
She caught a rat and brought it to a nearby tree to eat:
Discarding the unsavory stomach:
After a few minutes, Bobby reappeared when he flew to a tree behind her, overlooking her. She noticed his incoming flight and started crying out loud. She positioned her wings around her prey (called mantling) to shield it from him so she could continue eating it herself:
Bobby entering his tree:
He wiped his beak against a branch (called feaking) so he may have eaten between the time I last saw him fly north and his return to the park:
Rosie:
Rosie took her meal to another tree:
She left the remains of the rat on the branch and went to a higher perch.
Bobby then flew to the rat remains and finished it off. Rosie watched him eat from above:
He moved closer to her before joining her on her branch:
Bobby on the right:
Bobby then flew to his now regular night roost and Rosie flew to her mystery roost several seconds later.
Bobby:
Rosie:
Bobby in his roost:
A friend and I searched for Rosie for several minutes to no avail. We returned to Bobby’s roost to bid him good night.
All tucked in:
