A fellow Hawk-watcher let me know they saw Bobby bring a twig to the nest earlier this morning. I was getting ready to come out to the park when I spotted Bobby in the nest via the live Hawk cam.
I recorded brief footage of Bobby on the nest ledge. In the footage below you see him fly east, come back, then pass the nest. There was a gap of 20 seconds between flights which I edited out for time.
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I spotted Bobby on One Fifth Avenue when I arrived in the park. He’s seen sitting on the upper left ledge:
NYU is doing renovation work right now. You can see a couple of construction workers on the left-hand side of the Bobst Library roof in the picture below. The Hawk nest is in the window on the far right:
An Osprey circled high above Bobby and the park before flying south:
A caterpillar on some greenery I was standing near:
I got so distracted by the caterpillar, I almost missed seeing Bobby descending to the park trees:
The profile of the park arch’s George Washington statue on the right:
I was searching for Bobby in the trees when all of a sudden I realized his mate Sadie was herself in the trees! She silently flew from tree to tree:
Retracting the landing gear:
She landed in a tree not far from Bobby.
Bobby watched her land:
Sadie settled down and preened:
It is always a treat to see her in the trees. She so often perches high on buildings.
Bobby left his tree and landed on a branch above where I was standing!
I backed away to give him a wide berth because it’s always dangerous to stand right under a Hawk. Sure enough, he stretched and pooped, barely missing me.
He hopped to a new branch and broke off a twig for the nest:
I lost where he went. He did not go directly to the nest at first. He flew to the nest two minutes later with a twig:
He flew west out of the nest after a couple of minutes:
I looked for Bobby and Sadie but didn’t see either of them again. All the Hawk action took place over the course of only half an hour so my visit was fairly action-packed.
A few dozen pigeons foraging on a west side lawn on my way out of the park:
Thanks, Roger Paw.
Question: I see that Bobbie occasionally will go to the nest, sometimes bringing a twig. Is there a reason for this? Is it just to keep clear that this is a “claimed” nest and not an abandoned one that some other bird can move in to? Do other birds respect this claim? Seems it must be since they don’t have issues moving back in each spring.
Keep up the beautiful work.
Thanks, Carlene. They bring in sticks and other nesting material to help refortify it for next year’s eggs. You’ll see the Hawks occasionally bring in sticks now but they really ramp up that activity in the new year.
There have been many passing Hawks who have briefly stopped in the park over the years but our Hawks never let them stay long. They are great at defending their territory like that. I’ve never once seen a stranger Hawk stop into the nest to have a look at it and perhaps get ideas. It could be a respect thing or that our Hawks wouldn’t give them the chance. Thanks for the questions! It’s fun to share what I’ve observed.
It doesn’t get any better than this :all in one colorful picture
George Washington…Old Glory …and Bobby!
I am showing my generational heart strings and it feels great Roger_Paw, What a photo!
I am not a lover of creepy crawlies and that caterpillar looked as if he was coming out of the picture…straight for me. Brought back memories of taking toys “and stuff” from the pockets of my 6 year old son in a pre wash ritual…UGH…a caterpillar in the pocket mushed on my searching fingers …it only happened once …
Thanks for the photos of our Hawk couple living in the W. Park …Fall approaches…does the plumage on the hawks change in color intensity? The red on Bobby’s tail feathers, almost appears as a flaming orange tag.
Thank you! I was so surprised and happy that I got that shot when I looked through my photos later. I couldn’t have framed the scene better if I tried. 🙂
You pose an interesting question about the tail feather intensity. I don’t think I’ve noticed any distinct variation in color from season to season. Bobby is still molting so you might be seeing the brightness of his brand new tail feather(s) growing in. I am looking forward to winter when his red tail feathers really stick out against the snowy background.
Bobby is so perfect. That pic of him with wings spread in flight against the window showed off every feather! I’ve been following you for years…how long does a red-tail usually live, anyway?
He’s the most beautiful Hawk I have ever seen. I would guess Bobby is around 10 years old. I posted about a Hawk that was well into its 30s in 2011. Pale Male, the famous Central Park Hawk, is around 30 years old himself!
Thanks for following my site for all this time! The Hawks are so magnetic. Once you get hooked on them it’s difficult to extricate yourself from them. 🙂
Oh that’s great…hopefully many more years of Bobby. I think he is special, too…those eyes!…and how perfectly aware of everything around him, and protective and nurturing of his mate. Bobby rules!!