I had a lucky Washington Square Park Hawk-spotting day today. I first saw Sadie circling in the distance just south of the park:
I then noticed Bobby was sitting on a building that borders the southern area of the park. He had a large twig in his talons. He leapt up and brought it past their nest:
He brought the twig to the nest two minutes later.
The nest is in the NYU president Andrew Hamilton’s office window. I think it was Mr. Hamilton himself who I saw go to the window to watch Bobby a couple of times:
Bobby would work on the nest, walk to the other end of the nest ledge, then return to the nest:
‘Sandy’, a pretty brown pigeon I like, foraged in front of me:
Bobby arranging twigs:
I have added the live web cam to the site again (at the bottom of the home page and individual post pages) since the Hawks have been going to the nest a few times lately. They will start to visit the nest much more frequently in late winter as they prepare the nest for spring.
Bobby flew out of the nest after half an hour:
He flew across the park square then dipped into the western trees.
I found him in ‘the pigeon tree’, the tree where the western flock of pigeons spend most of their time:
I spent the next half hour watching him rest and preen:
An American Redstart fearlessly hopped around on the branches very close to Bobby:
A young rat stepped out from under some plants and made its way over to me:
It then retreated back to the brush. Its patch was right under Bobby’s nose but Bobby didn’t seem to notice it at all.
Some parting shots from when I was leaving Bobby:
Lone bagpiper playing “Amazing Grace” under the park arch on this September 11th anniversary:
I think, we all can remember where we were on 9/11 ,seventeen years ago.
I was working in East Boston, Massachusetts, at the time and could look across the harbor at Logan Airport.
Unaware of what was occurring, my supervisor called and told me to “get out of there”
While we remember all our heroes today, we can enjoy Bobby “nest tending”
I love that he is taking the initiative to clean up a bit and bring some twigs in readiness.
Do the Hawks always start so early in caring for the nest? Or, is this an instinctual thing , unrelated to nest preparation. But, he and Rosie ,recognize the nest as their own ..pretty special , those two !
Thanks for bringing us such wonderful travels and habits of our two favorite hawks.
Hi. The Hawks will attend to the nest now and then but they really get revved up in late January and visit the nest often as they start to fortify the structure. I figured I’d put the cam back on anyway because you never know when they’ll show up!
Wonderful! I always become totally engrossed in each of your photos of our NYU hawk family because, well, they are important to me…. and most especially their existence is part of our wildlife continuance on this earth no matter where we observe them. Thank you, Roger.
Thank you! I know exactly what you mean because I share the same sentiments about them. The pigeon feeders who usually hang out below that tree were elsewhere so I had Bobby all to myself as it were. It’s special when that happens.
Interesting that Jeanne was in Boston also 17 years ago on September 11th. I was in the Boston Courthouse for a hearing against the MBTA regarding an accident I had on a commuter train in which I fell and broke my foot. Policemen came into the courtroom and began escorting everyone out the door. My attorney and I moved with the crowd, and I remember the fear everyone was feeling in not having any idea what was going on. That fear was only to escalate once we got into his car and learned what had happened on the radio. It was terrifying. Yes it’s true all of us can remember where we were on September 11, 2001. Thank you Roger and Jeanne.