I caught up with two of the three Washington Square Park Hawk fledglings right at relaxation time. They spent three hours hardly budging from their trees in the western side of the park.
I had seen one of the adult Hawks being harassed by a Kestrel as it circled above the eastern side of the park when I first arrived. Both raptors circled together before the Hawk dove further east behind some buildings.
The first fledgling I saw was thankfully easy to find:
Its sibling higher up in a tree across the path:
This fledgling never left its tree. The first young Hawk I saw dove at pigeons twice but other than that was pretty resty.
The first fledgling I spotted:
The second one did have moments of alertness and curiosity between preens:
But the next few photos show its overall mood:
The more exuberant youngster:
Picking and pulling at leaves and stems:
The park was not particularly busy but I thought the ‘slice of life’ scene below might be interesting to non-NYers. The FDNY engine’s sirens were off but the lights were blinking. At any given moment there will be a mix of dog-walkers, regular park-goers, local workers, and tourists passing through the park (as was the case today):
A lady was feeding pigeons on a nearby lawn. Both fledglings took an interest in the pigeons milling about on the grass but neither dove at them.
Hopping to a new branch:
Scrunch and spring:
The fledgling flew above a pigeon flock being fed at the end of the path. A few people screamed when the pigeons flew up and around in a panic. The Hawk carried on flying to a new tree:
Flying back to its original group of trees 45 minutes later:
Love the hawk’s antics..they pretend not to be fearful of all the people in “their” park.
The lush dense greenery of the park , picked up w/ your camera shots, create a Jungle atmosphere.
Your camera shots are so gorgeous…hard to believe , not a new camera you are using to capture our Darlings in their summer of fun, before they leave for their own nest building.
Do new fledgelings mate the first year out of the nest?
Thank you, Jeanne! Yes, it’s the same camera gear. I’ve just been working harder at taking better pictures. 🙂
The first year is too early for the Hawks to start breeding. It takes a couple or more years for them to mature enough. I like this excerpt from an All About Birds article: “Though a few juveniles younger than two years old have been observed breeding, in general Red-tailed hawks usually don’t start breeding until their third spring.”
It is really so amazing how you can even spot the hawks to photograph on their daily rounds! Always wonderful to see them growing and learning…it never gets old. Thanks for running from one side of the park to the other to give us these great shots!
Thanks, Mindy! I still get an adrenaline boost every time I spot one of the Hawks. It’s like playing hide and seek even though they have no idea they’re part of my game. 🙂
P.S. Also like those “slice of life”
pix…nice to see all of the hawks’ environment. Those pix are always interesting.
Thanks for this feedback, I appreciate it!