I approached Washington Square Park from the east today. I saw Rosie flying into the Bobst Library nest from three blocks away.
As I arrived at the intersection of East 4th Street and Broadway, the surprising but unmistakeable shape of a Red-tailed Hawk flew north on Broadway. It was Bobby. It was shocking but exciting to see him near me while so far away from the park.
He soon flew from the north back to my direction and landed on a tall apartment building’s roof equipment:
He flew toward the park:
His crop was full so he was obviously not hungry.
Rosie was on the corner of NYU’s Kimmel Center on the southern side of the park:
Rosie soared in the sky before landing on a building at the eastern side of the park:
Bobby watched her from the nest:
Bobby flew to Judson Memorial Church cross:
Just as I predicted, Rosie soon joined him:
Rosie flew to the park trees:
Shockingly, she landed on a park garbage can:
Thankfully, fellow park goers gave her her due respect and did not crowd close to her.
She soon flew to higher ground:
Bobby still on the cross:
Rosie:
She was hungry and hunting:
Bobby flew from the cross to a perch at the western side of the park:
Rosie:
Bobby flew over my section of the park and toward the nest. From my angle, I could not tell if he landed in the nest or if he continued his flight path in that direction:
The setting sun illuminated him beautifully. It is always an awesome feeling when one of these huge hawks flies silently above you:
Rosie:
She landed on a low branch quite close to people. It was a better perch for her to scan the ground for vermin from. It was nerve-wracking to see her get so close to people though:
By this point, Bobby was high up in a tree a little west of her.
He looked down at her:
She dropped down to the ground under Bobby’s tree and caught a big rat:
A large crowd of people stood by her. A low gate (low enough to step over) separated the crowd from her. Most of the people were trying to take photos of her. Everyone was amazed and chatting about her and her rat as they watched. Because folks were so close, I was prepared to defend her should anyone step over the gate and try to get closer to her but thankfully, no one did.
She dragged the rat further from the crowd:
An onlooker’s camera flash:
Just a few of the people by a higher gate. You can see that with such small cameras and devices, many people would try to get a ‘better close-up’ of Rosie if they could:
Stomach and entrails on the ground to the right:
Too fast for my camera:
Bobby sitting in the same place:
Rosie:
Bobst Library in the background:
Cleaning under her talon:
Sitting on the Washington Square Park arch:
Rosie had flown east. Bobby was seen flying east after she did but I missed that sight.
Rosie flew to and sat by a Kimmel Center window:
She flew to the nest and stayed there the rest of my visit. It was evening by the time I left the park so my guess is she roosted there the entire night. It’s safe to say her mothering hormones are kicking in stronger and stronger each passing day. Spending the night in the nest is just one more indication of this.
