I got to see Mr. Bobby Hawk in Washington Square Park for close to an hour this warmish, sunny day. He was on his One Fifth Avenue perch when I first arrived at the park:
The arch pigeons would panic and hurriedly fly around then perch together every couple of minutes but I wasn’t sure why. I wasn’t seeing any other raptors around so I found their behavior a little confusing.
Bobby was the culprit one time as he soared from One Fifth to the southwestern corner building:
He landed on the right-hand corner then walked along the top to the left-hand corner. The Hawks are quite particular as to where they sit!
The pigeons acted up again. I finally saw the reason for their flights; a Cooper’s Hawk in a tree facing the arch! The Hawk stared at Bobby too:
Looking at the arch pigeons:
Safety in numbers:
The Cooper’s Hawk dashed eastward through the trees. I only just managed to get a snap of it (practically impossible to see in this photo):
Zoomed in on the sight of his tail feathers and wings:
It flew further east.
Bobby flew off his perch 20 minutes later:
He circled over the northwestern area of the park for a couple of minutes before disappearing northward:
A man in the park square was creating big bubbles that became heavy from crystallizing in the cold, giving kids more fun chances at grabbing and popping them.
