A Red-tailed Hawk was soaring above the Washington Square Park square a few minutes after I arrived this morning.
I was so focused on trying to get my camera settings right on such a cloudy day, I took for granted that it was probably Rosie or Bobby.
When I got home and looked through my photos I realized it was a juvenile:
Unfortunately, I’m not able to tell if the juvenile was a fledgling from this spring, last year, or older. There are ways to tell a Hawk’s age but with the poor lighting and my angle, I’m not able to sort out the bird’s age, if it was one of Rosie and Bobby’s kids, or just a passerby.
Bobby was sitting on a building at the southwestern corner of the park, watching the little Hawk flying:
The juvenile flew away and out of sight:
Of course, at the time I was in the park, I thought it was Rosie I had lost sight of for a moment.
Bobby and passing pigeons:
Bobby in flight:
Rosie joined Bobby as he flew above the western side of the park:
Both Hawks in the same frame:
Bobby and Rosie then flew along the street a block south of the park (West 3rd Street), heading east:
Searching for them was not successful so I took a walk around the park to enjoy some of the other sights during this nice autumn day.
Oh, goody, the Pumpkmelons are back!
I brought my smaller lens along so I could take pictures of the buildings I so often mention in the blog.
With my telephoto zoom lens, it’s practically impossible to show multiple buildings in one shot so hopefully the photos below give some idea of the distance between the buildings our Hawks often perch on or soar by.
Two Fifth Avenue on the left, park arch in the middle, One Fifth Avenue on the right:
NYU’s Silver Center:
From left to right: Edge of Silver Center, NYU’s Education Building in the center, Shimkin Hall (where Bobby and Rosie have been building their second nest), Bobst Library (where their primary nest is). The park square and fountain below the buildings:
Bobst Library and the Hawk nest:
Nest:
Judson Memorial Church, just west of the Library and Kimmel Center:
Main buildings on the western side of the park (the building on the left was where Bobby was seated in the first few photos of him in this post). The fountain and park square below:
I saw two new rat snap traps at the western side of the park.
First:
Second:
It’s encouraging to see the Parks Department hold true to not using rodenticide in WSP in order to protect the Hawks and other animals that may accidentally eat the rat poison or a poisoned rat.
Bees still active:
Freshly-caught worm:
Dirty-mouthed squirrel:
After I was already home I received the news that a pair of Red-tailed Hawks were seen sitting on the Con Ed (Consolidated Energy) tower overlooking Union Square Park. The birds were very likely Rosie and Bobby since they have been seen hunting in USP often in the past.
My friend sent me this photo and permitted me to share it on my blog (thank you!):
