A juvenile Red-tailed Hawk got the run of Washington Square Park all day. It flew all around the park chasing pigeons and catching and eating three rodents during its stay.
I followed it around for five hours (much longer than I expected to be in the park) but I just had to stay to see if and when one of the adult Hawks would chase it out of the park.
Bobby circled with it right before sunset and got into a tussle with it before chasing it east out of the park.
The photos below are a mix of action and glamour shots. Enjoy!
One of the adult Hawks flew over the park but didn’t seem to notice the youngster. It kept flying from northeast to northwest and out of the park.
I think the little Hawk saw it though:
Scrunch and spring:
Spying on a squirrel:
The Hawk landed on this branch but a squirrel charged it and scared it off the branch for a second:
The squirrel charged the Hawk again, making it fly away to a new branch:
Note the squirrel on the left:
I think the Hawk dove to this lawn to check out the pair of gloves lying on the grass:
There’s a Hawk in those pigeons:
After the Hawk finished its meal it flew up and circled over the area before darting south and circling next to the library, the location of the Hawk nest.
I then saw Bobby circling with it. They charged at each other in mid-air. The youngster is on the right:
Their tussle didn’t last long. Bobby escorted the youngster east away from the park for good.