A fellow Hawk-watcher was in Washington Square Park this morning and was relaying exciting Hawk activity to me while I was getting ready to come to the park.
They saw Bobby break off a twig and bring it to the nest, Bobby catch a pigeon and bring it to the nest, and his mate Sadie enter the nest and eat some of the pigeon. I opened the nest cam live stream and caught sight of when one of the Hawks was in the nest:
Bobby and Sadie then sat together on NYU’s Silver Center (a building along the east border of the park). I was only a couple of blocks away when the Hawks flew away and briefly disappeared. Just my luck!
I was keen on seeing the Hawks today to check on their legs and make sure the green material I saw on Bobby’s ankle August 31st was now gone. I searched for the Hawks a few hours yesterday and did not see either one so that was frustrating.
I was at the western side of the park when a regular park-goer pointed Bobby out to me. He was sitting in a tree across from Judson Memorial Church:
I watched him sit for about 10 minutes before he flew past me and into the northwest trees. I was able to check his legs and saw they were free and clear:
He would sometimes scan the lawn for prey:
He moved from tree to tree for the next 15 minutes. He tugged at twigs now and then but did not snap any off.
Scratch:
He set his gaze on prey in the distance and flew right toward it:
He snatched a pigeon right from a branch!
Bobby brought the pigeon to a couple of trees before settling down and eating it:
Sadie surprised me by flying overhead and into a tree near Bobby. I didn’t even know she was around:
I was happy to see there was no foreign material on her legs either.
Bobby working on his meal:
Sadie watching a squirrel jump around above her:
She turned and watched Bobby:
She then flew even closer to Bobby:
Bobby ate for 25 minutes before bringing his catch to a new tree:
Flying by Sadie:
Bobby was much more secluded in his new tree:
He ate for another 20 minutes. At one point I heard Sadie scream a few times as she circled over the trees. The Hawks usually scream like that when there is an intruder in the park but I did not see any other Hawk around. But another Hawk-watching friend of mine did see a different Hawk in the park later in the day (more on that below).
Bobby wiping his beak clean on the tree bark:
Hopping to a new branch:
He returned to the pigeon and had a few more nibbles:
He then dropped the pigeon! It fell onto a children’s playground lawn:
There were several youngsters running and playing on the lawn nearby which might be why Bobby didn’t bother to retrieve the pigeon.
Wiping up some more:
He flew to a tree across the path:
He was obviously full. He started to rest and looked like he might take a nap:
A couple of Park Enforcement Patrol officers discarded the pigeon body from the lawn. It was a shame that Bobby lost the meal but it was definitely the right choice to remove the carcass from where kids play.
The kids asked me all sorts of great questions about the Hawks once they heard the pigeon was a Hawk meal. They asked me if I saw the Hawk catch the pigeon. I said yes and that I had pictures of the catch. They asked to see the photos and were very impressed by Bobby’s skills!
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Bobby spent nearly an hour in his tree before zipping across the lawn to then rest in the ‘Pigeon Tree’, a tree where the western pigeon flock always gathers:
I left the park for the day. A few hours later a friend let me know that a fledgling Hawk was in the park. It caught and ate a mouse. It then caught a pigeon later on but dropped it before being able to eat it.
Tis the season for this year’s fledgling Hawks from all over the city and beyond to be exploring the world so it’s possible the fledgling was a visitor rather than one of Bobby and Sadie’s three kids.
What a wonderfully amazing Hawk Day! Such varied activities. Its great that other ‘hawkaholics’ watch for our Bobbie & Sadie and their youngsters, indicating where and when they are seen…great helpers! As always- most grateful for the sharp insights you provide for your admirers…never get enough!
Yes, my Hawking friends are invaluable and help create a more vivid idea of what the Hawks do. Thanks, Susan!
Autumn is approaching and yet the foliage in the park is so lush and green.
Do you know, if Bobby helps Sadie w/ food when she is free and off the nest?
I wondered if , in flying closer and closer to Bobby, she hoped to share the pidgin meal?
What adventures today w/ Bobby and Sadie. Pidgins are fairly good sized birds and yet, look so small , when held in Bobby’s talons.
Such an opportunity you experienced in teaching the children in the park, of the natural hunt of the hawks w/ your explanation and the wonderful pictures.
Bobby does supply Sadie with food even during the ‘off-season’. He’s a great provider! The Hawks are huge and do make the pigeons look small. It’s awfully nice to be able to get so close to them. Those kids were great; I loved how sophisticated their questions were.
Bobby is such a gorgeous bird. It’s really breathtaking to watch him in your photographs. And it’s painful to think of any of these hawks dying from rodenticide. I don’t know the ins and outs of who can use poison and where, but truthfully it seems to me no poison should ever be used anywhere near nesting red-tail hawks. They are just too precious and beautiful. It’s great that the next generation is getting an education on how these hawks live and breed in the city.
WSP doesn’t put out rodenticide because of the Hawks. They use snap traps and sometimes dry ice in the burrows to suffocate the rats.
I agree; rodenticide shouldn’t be used anywhere near them. Luckily for us, the WSP Hawks eat a lot of pigeon. When they hunt the park rats it’s mostly at night time (when the rats come out in number to forage above ground).