I visited Washington Square Park yesterday for a while but saw no Hawks. However today was rewarding. I saw both Hawks Bobby and Sadie as well as a nice pair of pigeons resting in the park.
Some of the plants awaiting planting were newly covered with chicken wire:
These plants will still be no match for the naughty squirrel I saw digging in them on September 14th:
A pretty pigeon was resting on one of the western park lawns:
A nearby male came over and they greeted each other tenderly:
They took turns preening:
The male settled down to rest after a minute:
He kept his eye on me even though I was on the other side of a tall fence:
Autumn is slowly coming along:
I walked north on 5th Avenue to look for the Hawks at their 12th Street building perch. I saw Bobby sitting on the west-facing side of the Cardozo Law School building, as usual:
I first discovered the Hawks like to sit on these columns under the cornice on August 12th but fellow Hawk-watchers and I have watched the Hawks sit on this building’s roof structures for a few years now.
There was a pair of interesting Blue Jays flying in the trees below Bobby’s building. They would make strange sound effects I hadn’t heard Jays make before as they followed each other or perched in trees. I tried getting a picture of them but they flew too quickly!
Another Hawk-watcher caught up with me and soon noticed Sadie flying just southwest of us while I was observing Bobby.
She circled several times then flew over Bobby’s building:
Bobby left his perch and flew across 5th Avenue, circled above, then disappeared on us:
He had been on his perch for 20 minutes. I saw one of the Hawks dive southwest of us so we decided we would head toward the park to see if the Hawks were making their way there.
Before we left we heard a loud call that sounded like a combination of a fledgling Hawk and a falcon. The sound was strange. It took me a minute to figure out it was one of those Blue Jays doing some raptor mimicry!
The Hawk fledglings spent a good amount of time by the Cardozo building this summer so I wager the Jays learned how to sound like them from hearing the Hawk kids cry for their supper.
Bobby was sitting on his favorite southeastern flag pole perch when we arrived at the park:
This perch overlooks the park. Bobby looked below into the trees at times:
I left the park after several minutes. I was a few blocks away when I looked at his perch again and saw that he was gone!
Big excitement in the W.90s just off CPW today; a fledging RTH! perched in the tree branches drew an admiring crowd of humans and a police car! Guesses as to its identity ranged from ‘falcon’ to ‘eagle’!!! Perhaps one of this year’s WSP’s brood looking for its own turf? It sat on the tree branch for over 1/2 hr. preening, looking around – oblivious to the crowd; then flew off. Our NYC birds are so used to city life – most amusing. I’ll try and figure out how to send my son’s pictures to you.
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That’s so exciting! You hear all guesses from eagles, owls, to falcons. But hardly anyone ever says Hawks! 🙂 It was likely one of Pale Male’s kids but with migration happening, it could have been from anywhere!
Long time lurker, first time commenter! I am so pleased to be able to say hello and thank you for your marvelous documentation. I don’t know how you do it in the extreme weather but more power to you. Your dedication benefits hawk fans such as myself! Thanks for all that you do, Jill.
I appreciate your kind words, thank you Jillian! Not to worry, I go home when I’ve had enough of the heat/humidity/cold. 😀
The pigeons look so calm and comfortable in the soft grass. Such a treat to see them relaxing like this. We won’t be able to see pictures like this once the weather changes and snow is on the ground. I’ve always loved the pigeons of New York. I was out Saturday on the UPW feeding them and the darling sparrows with corn muffins from Zabar’s. Thanks so much for caring about them. They have fans out here!!
It’s funny, I’ve noticed them napping and resting in the grass like that for years but never really stopped to observe them do that for any length of time until recently. And now I can’t not look and admire them! The animal life in the park has created a unique universe of its own.