We’re in another heat wave so I wasn’t sure if I’d go to Washington Square Park but I brought my gear with me to work as usual in case I decided to later on and boy I’m glad I did!
The fledgling that had caught the pigeon Saturday was having leftovers on the same branch it had left it.
Foot down the hatch:
It was relaxing and digesting so I left the Hawk to find the others:
I found Bobby:
I had just missed seeing him have a bath in the Law Building gutter. The stone ledge in front of him was wet and his chest feathers were damp. It was very hot and muggy (94 degrees with about 45% humidity) at that time.
He headed south of his perch at West 4th Street:
One World Trade Center (or the “Freedom Tower”) in the distance:
He headed to the building’s fire escape. A flurry of wings and he returned instantly with a freshly-caught pigeon:
He first took it to a low building at West 3rd and Sullivan Streets:
After two minutes he flew back to the park:
I literally had to run at this point to get to the park (I was a block south and he was moving FAST). I went to the southwest corner of the park (where I suspected he took the pigeon) but had a hard time locating him until I saw a small puff of small white feathers float from a tree several feet away. It could only be Bobby plucking his pigeon.
He had some trouble keeping the bird on the branch. He left for a new perch after ten minutes:
After one minute he was off to another perch:
He was in a more secluded spot now. He was in a higher, larger, shadier tree and at the fenced-off area still undergoing renovation.
A bold squirrel threatened him and charged to and fro on the branch:
The squirrel then hurled into Bobby with such force, Bobby, the squirrel, and Bobby’s pigeon all fell off the branch:
The pigeon landed on the ground with a loud thud. It was quite heavy. I don’t know if the squirrel was alright since I was focused on following Bobby. It could very well have grabbed hold of a branch on the way down.
Bobby landed on a tree outside the fenced-off area:
Panting from the heat and action:
Rustle:
Cleaning his talon:
I thought he might go for his pigeon again (I’m pretty sure he could see where it lay) but Bobby preened and rested. I stayed with him for forty five minutes. He didn’t leave his perch the whole time.
Robins are loud and vocal when a Hawk is around. It’s one decent way to find a Hawk although Robins tend to keep their distance so you have to search in a many-tree area to see what they’re hollering over.
One Robin landed several feet above Bobby for a few seconds, yelling.
One of Bobby’s feathers floated and got stuck in his tree’s foliage:
I had to go.
I looked for other Hawks as I left the park but didn’t see any. The fledgling that had been eating its pigeon was gone when I went to check where I last left it.