A couple of Hawk-watchers who were in Washington Square Park before me this morning got the treat of seeing all three of Rosie and Bobby’s fledglings sitting in a row together on two different building perches.
They later got to watch two of the fledglings zip about in some of the park trees and to see one of them diving down on the lawn, chasing after squirrels.
I got to the park in time to see one of them doing its own zipping around.
This fledgling was intensely watching the grass beneath it as though in hunting mode.
It spotted something and dove to it:
It was going after a squirrel!
The maneuver looked more like play-hunting/practice rather than an attempt to kill.
The squirrel scooted up the tree and the fledgling flew to another tree:
The fledgling dove into the still fenced-off area some of us refer to as Quantico or The Hunting Grounds since it is where Bobby teaches his fledglings how to hunt (going back to the Pip days).
Back up in a tree then off again:
The fencing has privacy mesh attached to it so I was only able to see the fledgling through gaps or tears in the fabric:
One of the parents was atop the scaffolding at One University Place, across the park:
Back with the fledgling:
Scanning the ground from leafy cover in a new tree:
Zoomed in:
The fledgling was crying on and off as it flew around the park (obviously not out of dire distress).
It dropped lower and watched a squirrel beneath it.
It then landed on the ground and ran after the squirrel when it came out into the open. Unfortunately I couldn’t photograph the activity on the ground since the tear in the mesh didn’t extend low enough.
The fledgling flew up into a nearby tree soon enough anyway.
Bobby is going to have no trouble teaching this fledgling how to hunt!
Building along the southwest corner of the park in the background:
The fledgling flew low again but we weren’t able to find it.
Parent on the northwest corner of One Fifth:
The fledgling reappeared, flying to a tree north of where we had been following it minutes earlier:
Dropping down to a low railing for a few seconds:
The fledgling then flew across the square and to the northern trees at the eastern side of the park:
It cried out from time to time:
It then flew out of the trees and landed on the arch:
It flew east, back to one of its regular building perches, NYU’s Pless Hall:
It joined a sibling that was relaxing on a window sill of a building across the street:
This building, a regular one the Hawks perch on, happens to be the site of the Triangle Shirtwaist Factory fire of 1911. The building is now part of the NYU campus.
The third fledgling was relaxed on a window sill nearby, on NYU’s Silver Center (the building next door and outside the eastern side of the park):
That fledgling was begging/crying most of the time.
I was not too worried for it though since Bobby and Rosie are so good at hunting and bringing the babes regular meals.
It got up and walked to another window, crying along the way:
All the fledglings settled down for a while, preening and otherwise relaxing so I found my chance to break away.