My Hawk visit lasted about an hour and a half today. Over that time a fellow Hawk-watcher and I watched Bobby and Sadie perch and fly no more than a couple of blocks from Washington Square Park.
I spotted Bobby atop a water tower southeast from the park:
My fellow Hawker was in the park, watching Sadie as she sat on NYU’s Silver Center Building (a building along the eastern side of the park).
Bobby was sitting east of the roof terrace where he and Rosie would regularly gather nest material from potted plants:
My friend notified me several minutes later via text that Sadie had flown off her perch. All of a sudden the birds around me fell silent and I saw some Sparrows and Pigeons flee in my direction (a sign a raptor was flying above). My friend walked over to me and told me Sadie was now on the roof of the building next to us:
She was getting some heat:
Sadie flew off her perch and headed in the direction of the park. Bobby immediately flew to where she had just been perched and engaged a Peregrine Falcon:
The Falcon and one of the Hawks were ‘yelling’ very loudly.
It was clear that Bobby was protecting Sadie from having to deal with the Falcon herself.
Sadie circled nearby a few times then flew straight toward the park:
Bobby held the Falcon at bay and had a few more air tussles with it.
The Peregrine:
Bobby fending off the Peregrine:
It was all over in a minute. Bobby sat on the south side of the roof terrace:
Sadie was now on the NYU Education Building flag pole (at the southeast corner of the park):
Bobby left his perch and dove toward Sadie and the park.
I lost sight of him because I was a couple of blocks away.
As I got closer it looked like Bobby flew out of the nest before flying to the Judson Memorial Church cross:
Sadie had left the flag pole but I didn’t see where she went.
There was a lot of human drama occurring by the park arch (with at least two arrests but I didn’t see what happened):
Bobby left the cross the flew low over the park trees.
I followed his path but didn’t find him even though I did see a Hawk sitting on the red tile roof a couple of blocks north of the park:
It flew off and began circling lower and lower:
I had to leave so having this Hawk disappear when it did was perfect timing.