I got to watch the Washington Square fledgling for almost three hours today.
Fellow Hawk-watchers saw her on the park arch and the church cross before and after my visit. One of the adults had brought a pigeon meal to the arch and the fledgling landed there to fetch it. Unfortunately the adult dropped the pigeon and it fell to the walkway below.
Another Hawk-watcher saw her land on the Judson Memorial Church cross before flying around the library. The fledgling is really getting around!
A park-goer was walking her loud Cockatoo around. The fledgling seemed to see it from her tree.
But she was more interested in the pigeons on the path across from her:
Watching a couple of pigeons land then fly away from her:
She didn’t leave her tree until nearly two hours after I arrived:
She grabbed a pigeon for a second but lost her grip. A couple of pigeon feathers got stuck in her talons:
She zipped to another tree. Meanwhile some very real human drama was unfolding. One of the NYPD officers and Parks Enforcement Patrol officers that patrol the park were running full-speed in the direction of the arch:
I did not see what call they were responding to and honestly I was a little busy making sure I didn’t miss seeing where the fledgling would go next.
She was very active with her pigeon-chasing.
Library in the distance:
Hyper landing:
During the last several minutes an NYPD helicopter was circling very low over the park and was so deafening you could hardly hear one of the jazz bands playing on the path nearby.
The fledgling zipped around the whole time the helicopter was making its rounds.
She finally settled down in this last tree before I left:
It was a few hours later when my Hawk friend saw her land on the cross and fly around the library.