My strategy today when visiting Washington Square Park was to try to find Bobby and Rosie a couple of hours before roosting time in order to hopefully see some of their last minute cavorting before bedtime. Thankfully, it paid off.
I saw Bobby on a building at the southwest corner of the park through the trees:
He flew off the building after a few minutes then flew north out of sight.
Rosie appeared and flew to NYU’s Silver Center:
A Kestrel dive-bombed her for a few seconds:
Bobby showed up from the north, flew across the square, then landed on the NYU Education Center’s flag pole (one of his favorite perches):
I was a bit disappointed because Rosie had left her Silver Center perch without my seeing so I was having a tricky time keeping my eye on Bobby while glancing through the trees for her.
It turned out she was perched near Bobby all the while because she appeared flying from behind his building to NYU’s Shimkin Hall (where their secondary nest is getting built):
She didn’t land at the Shimkin nest but she did seem to land near it.
Back to Bobby:
He flew across the park and landed on a northwest building top:
I didn’t see him land there so it was practically a miracle to spot him there. There’ve been many times when I’ve been fooled by that building topper and thought there was a Hawk there but there wasn’t. But this time it turned out to be true.
I walked a bit closer to Bobby’s perch to get a better shot:
All of a sudden Rosie flew off a tree I happened to be standing near and flew southward, then turned at the intersection and flew above the street while flying east:
I lost sight of her. When I went to look at Bobby he was gone as well.
I figured I might as well look for Rosie. I heard then saw another Kestrel dive-bombing a bird so I stepped back and saw that the Kestrel was attacking Bobby:
He was back on the same building I first saw him on today:
He made a roundabout journey to the Judson Memorial Church cross:
Hello? Is it me you’re looking toward?
After a few minutes Bobby flew east, low above the trees. He then dipped down into the branches.
It took a few minutes for me to locate Bobby. Squirrels in the trees near me were sending their warning/alarm calls so I knew I must have been getting warmer. I was practically spinning trying to find him. So many squirrels were giving out their alarms and I knew I was hot on Bobby’s trail but I could not see him!
Finally:
Yikes, he flew so close when he passed me:
Bobby gulped down his little catch.
Rosie flew to a tree east of us. She was calling out really loud so it caught the attention of a lot of tourists and other park visitors.
Rosie landing:
She watched Bobby:
A woman who feeds the squirrels regularly (and who is not a fan of the Hawks) rushed to Rosie’s tree and hollered at Rosie something like, “Rosie! You’d better leave my squirrels alone! You need to leave! You’d better get out of here!” She was tense and pacing back and forth on the path while shouting at Rosie.
A man who might have been a friend of hers stepped onto the lawn under Rosie’s tree and made hissing noises at her (I suppose as a way to shoo Rosie away). He had a small bag of what looked like food for squirrels in his hand. He eventually walked away.
It’s pretty amazing that most of the squirrel and bird feeders are so fervent when it comes to their chosen animals, they despise the Hawks and don’t consider their hunting of the birds and squirrels as perfectly natural. Instead, they see the Hawks as ‘enemies’.
Rosie was blissfully ignorant of her detractors tonight and preened:
Bobby flew from his tree to another further north:
Rosie (Bobst Library in the background):
A squirrel approached Bobby (perhaps to challenge him off the branch) for a couple of seconds before moving away:
Bobby hunted again:
NYU’s Silver Center in the background:
He caught and ate another little creature.
Rosie flew to Bobby’s branch:
I moved to the other side of their tree. Bobby on the left, Rosie on the right:
Bobby was still in hunting mode:
Rosie:
She proactively charged a couple of squirrels that were on her branch (the Hawks usually ignore the squirrels until they charge them first):
The squirrels left. She saw prey on the ground and went for it:
As you can see, the lighting was sparse at this point (it had been a cloudy day and the sun had just set).
Rosie in her new tree (NYU’s Kimmel Center in the background):
Bobby in a nearby tree:
Rosie:
She flew to another tree:
Judson Memorial Church on the left:
Both Hawks had disappeared so I went to the Red Roost Inn to see if either Hawk was in bed. There was one Hawk there:
I couldn’t tell which Hawk it was though.
The park Christmas tree in front of the arch:
