I was en route to Washington Square Park when I saw an adult Red-tailed Hawk circling over Cooper Square, a section of the city northeast of the park. I assembled my camera to take its picture but of course it flew back in the direction of the park by the time I was ready.
I’ve seen Bobby in that area several times in the past. There is a big flock of pigeons that live there so he might have been hunting. I did not see him catch anything.
I continued on to Washington Square. Who I think was Bobby was on a One Fifth Avenue perch by the time I got to the park. A Blue Jay was ‘yelling’ by the northeast corner of the park so I thought it might be giving warning cries that a fledgling was around. I scanned the corner’s trees and buildings but didn’t see a fledgling so I went to where I last saw them yesterday.
One of the fledglings was at one of their usual perches, a ‘dinner table’ at the Pless building along the east side of the park:
The next 40 minutes was full of fledgling 2 (F2) and fledgling 3 (F3) perching and flying around the roof together. I wasn’t seeing F1 at first.
F3 hopped down to the rain gutter and spent the next several hours there. I forgot to mention in yesterday’s post that F3 sauntered over to watch Bobby dip into the gutter last night to have some drinks of water. F3 watched Bobby intently. Well today F3 really took to the gutter and looked like he drank some water too.
F3 on the left, F2 on the right behind the railing:
Bobby flew to F3 and landed in the gutter next to him nearly an hour after I arrived. Bobby was toting food:
F3 just looked at him. F2 started to cry loudly so Bobby brought the food to it:
Bobby landed in the gutter again and either picked his talons clean and/or had some more water:
Wiping his beak clean:
F2 eating:
F3 resting and preening:
F2 napping after lunch:
I watched F3 some more since F2 was sleeping and I still hadn’t found F1.
The fledgling watched the goings on in the park and the traffic below:
F3 tucked down too low in the gutter to see anymore so I looked further from the park for F1. I found it sitting as serene as can be the block northeast of the park:
I realized then that the Blue Jay I heard when I arrived had no doubt been yelling about this fledgling. If only I had crossed the street when I first searched for a fledgling!
F1 turned and flew east out of view 18 minutes after I discovered it on its perch:
The fledgling was impossible to see so I returned to the other two youngsters.
Sadie overlooking her two babes:
Wet feather tips:
The black underside of the Pless rain gutter on the right:
My visit was several hours of mellow Hawkness which is fine by me. When I got home I watched the cam for a little while and could see the tiny shapes of F2 and F3 cavort on Pless. F3 walked and ran back and forth on the gutter and F2 flew about the roof top.
A fellow Hawk-watcher who was in the park in the early evening saw F1 fly to Pless’s neighboring building Goddard Hall (the corner building) which was great because it meant all three fledglings were back together again.
The real kicker though was seeing one of the fledglings back in the nest for the evening when I checked the cam at 9:23PM!
Bobby and Sadie…you made life so wonderful for your kids …they keep returning home!
I hope they know , it is “get a job or go to college” while living again in the good old home nest.
They’ve got a good thing going that’s for sure. 🙂
Thanks so much for the ongoing photos and narrative. Made my day!
Thanks, Jill!
Roger_Paw, Thank you for your stunning photos and accompanying narrative.
It is my daily must-see to keep up with the adventures of this Washington Square family.
Thank you! I’m glad you are enjoying the site. The WSP Hawk family truly is special.
Great photographs!! I love the photograph of F3 peeking over the edge of the building. He’s adorable. Mother Sadie and Bobby are such good parents taking care of their three babies. What a wonderful story. Thank you for the photos!
Isn’t it remarkable how adorable these little raptors can be? Thanks, Carlene!
Could you tell us how you are able to identify the individual hawks?
Hi. There are a few ways to tell them apart. Bobby’s form is very sleek and his coloration on his head and belly is more of a charcoal brown. Sadie is much more red and is almost always has her feathers more puffed out (probably because I mostly see her when she’s sitting relaxed).
With the fledglings it’s a matter of recognizing and distinguishing the dark brown feather patterns around their apricot-colored chests. And by their sizing if they’re sitting close to each other. F1 is the largest of the bunch and F3 the smallest which helps.
😀 That helps!