First, an apology that I have only two photos to share in this post. It turns out the protective filter I used on my lens today was woefully inadequate (it was a brand new purchase) and the quality of my photos was subpar. It’s a real shame too because I saw and photographed the Washington Square Park hawks engaged in wondrous activity. Lesson learned!
For this post I’ll just have to describe what I saw today.Before I do, here are the two best shots I managed to get today. They are of Bobby while he was hunting in the trees at the western side of the park:
When I first got to the park Rosie was in the nest with the two babies. One of the babies had ventured out of the nest and was sitting on the ledge for a few minutes. It was the first time I saw one of them on the ledge. They are exploring more and more and growing up fast.
Bobby flew above the park from the north and landed on a familiar flag pole. He then flew east and out of sight.
I walked toward where I thought he perched but didn’t see him. When I got back to the open sky of the square, I saw him sitting near the top of the apartment building One Fifth Avenue. A Mockingbird was dive-bombing him (probably the same one that harasses the hawks regularly now). Bobby got tired of the attack and flew to another section of the building. The Mockingbird didn’t give up. It followed him to his new perch and continued to dive-bomb him. Bobby then flew off his perch. The Mockingbird followed him, bopping him on his back while he was in flight. He fled the little bird eventually. He disappeared a block northeast of the park.
After several minutes Rosie flew from the nest to the Judson Memorial Church cross. Bobby was obviously nearby because in an instant he flew up and joined her at the cross. They shared the same ‘rung’ of the cross together.
Bobby flew from the cross to the nest ledge. After a few minutes he returned to the cross and joined Rosie. He then flew into the trees at the western side of the park. He flew from tree to tree but didn’t catch anything. He flew across the park and into the trees at the eastern side of the park. Still no attempt to catch anything. He made his way back to the western side of the park. Rosie had returned to the nest by then. It was getting darker and darker and with each passing minute I thought he might fly to a bedtime roost for the night but instead he stayed in the park to hunt.
Bobby flew to the side of a building overlooking the southwestern corner of the park. The hawks stash food where he landed so I thought he might eat leftovers there but he did not. Instead, he perched in the same place for a few minutes.It was nighttime at this point.
After flying to another building’s corner, he dropped down to a low roof. I did not see him pop up again so he may have even spent the night there. I checked a couple of his regular bedtime roosts (including the Red Roost Inn) but he was not there.
I left the park and headed home. It was so nice to see him hunting in the trees again after weeks of him perching high on buildings and flag poles.