I was waiting to cross an intersection when I happened to look up the block and noticed a large bird sitting on the side of a building further up the street. I hurriedly assembled my camera so I could get a better look and sort out if it was a Hawk (as I had been suspecting):
It was Bobby! I thought it might be him since I and other Hawk-watchers have seen him hunt in that area in the past but it was awfully nice to get the confirmation today.
He was sitting on what’s known as The Wanamaker Building, an old department store building that now houses offices and a Kmart.
This building overlooks Astor Place and Cooper Square, areas east of Washington Square Park and home to a big pigeon population.
Although I’ve seen Bobby hunt in this area, I’ve never seen him catch anything there. He’d circle overhead then eventually make his way back toward Washington Square.
***
Bobby stood up straighter then dove off the building toward Cooper Square. I had only seen him on this building for a couple of minutes so the timing was very lucky.
He gave me the slip. I narrowed my search to the park trees south of Cooper Square (at Cooper Triangle) since it looked like Bobby was headed in that direction.
It started to drizzle and then lightly rain so I hid in dry spots underneath the tree canopy for half an hour, scouting for Bobby as much as I could without my gear getting too wet. Pigeons that had been sitting in the tree branches panicked all of a sudden and fled to the old Metropolitan Savings Bank Building outside the park:
I figured Bobby must have been the cause of the pigeons’ escape but where was he!? I looked through the little park’s trees only to find him in a tree which was right behind me the whole time:
Bobby then spent the next 10 minutes diving, circling, and perching all around Astor Place and Cooper Square. He was quite quick and acrobatic!
Sitting on the northwest corner of the Cooper Union Art School:
You might be able to see the light drizzle that was falling during this time:
A fellow Hawk-watcher who came out to join in on the fun saw Bobby grab a pigeon during a brief time when Bobby was out of my sight. Bobby did have some pigeon feathers stuck on his talons when I next saw him but he was not eating a pigeon. He either lost hold of it or killed it and stashed it for later.
Back to his flying:
He landed on the corner of the Wanamaker building:
Bobby flew out of the square and toward Washington Square Park:
My friend and I searched for him (and any other Hawk we might find) in the park but did not see him there. We did see a flock of geese heading south though:
Gorgeous soaring. Love it when he drops his legs coming into a landing…his legs look like my skinnies!
How about those lions head sculptures. Great for us non-New Yorkers. Each photo a shear delight. Thanks!
I love it when he drops his legs like that. I’m glad you commented on the lions; I hadn’t really noticed them before even though I’ve looked at that building hundreds of times!
Bobby, you still have it!
Bobby is doing the dance of “the kids are gone ,at last”
Hope he and Sadie enjoy some time together before it is nest building time
and thoughts of Family.
Thanks for the dynamic pics of our agile ,vibrant Bobby.
Has anyone observed Sadie in the area, lately?
It’ll be exciting to watch them start rebuilding the nest come January (especially February when they really start to get into the fortification).
I last saw Sadie a little over a week ago.
Roger: Wanamaker’s was a very posh department store chain, with the main store in Philadelphia–turn of the century. Inside that gorgeous building is a full concert hall with a huge organ, that is no longer in good repair. The reason I know about the family is that one of Rachmaninoff’s daughters married the scion of the family, and there are grandchildren. Rocky used to play there as well. It was still in business when I was a kid in the 50s, but closed soon thereafter…the Wanamaker’s here in Philly is now a Macy’s, but it still has the huge bronze eagle that Wanamaker commissioned for a World’s Fair early in the 20th-c. and then was placed in the store–it’s too heavy to move, so thank heavens it hasn’t been demolished. Best love, Rena
What a great bit of history to read. Thank you, Rena! I’ll have to research pictures online to see these treasures you mentioned. They sound amazing.
How you spot these hawks among the ornate buildings is a miracle! Love these pix!
It’s pretty exciting when I find one! I can go for days without seeing any Hawks so days like this are so great!
It’s also really neat to see the amazing carvings and detail of the buildings up close. Beautiful…don’t build them like this any more.