I had my arms full as I ran an errand when I spotted two Hawks that were likely the Washington Square Park Hawks flying from the direction of the Con Edison tower (our Hawks’ long-time hangout) and toward the west.
I hoped to see them again and photograph them once I was done with my errand but I never saw them or any other raptor for the rest of my outing. I spent the remainder of my time in Washington Square Park.
Renovation work is now being done on the west and south-facing facades of the NYU Bobst Library building:
The Hawk nest is on the left, some of the scaffolding seen on the far right:
The Christmas tree and One World Trade as seen under the park arch:
A regular park goer said he saw one of the Hawks atop One Fifth Avenue earlier today and that a Cooper’s Hawk was nearby.
The pigeons were certainly acting as though a Cooper’s Hawk was very close but I did not ever see the little Hawk.
The pigeons would fly to and from the arch and join up together in the sky. I took this video footage of some of the pigeon action with a separate camera:
NYPD vehicle slowly taking a short cut through the park:
The Spalding Gray memorial on the east side of the park surrounded by overgrowth and looking like it was partially chewed by a rat:
My visit was bad timing but I’m optimistic I’ll see at least one raptor next time!
I enjoyed the video! It’s cold out there. The poor pigeons are aware that any second they may be someone’s next meal. I’ve always loved pigeons and I love the way these guys line up like sentinels on the arch. What would New York be without our pigeons? Thanks so much for braving the cold and posting these photographs. I love the photo of the arch face with all the pigeons and the large bald eagle on the facade beneath them. It should appear in a photograph album of famous New York sites.
Thank you so much, Carlene! Our pigeons are fascinating. There is a guy who visits the park almost every day who hand feeds them. They know him very well. All he has to do is whistle and the whole flock will fly over to him. Yesterday he was holding one of them and petting it. The pigeon was closing its eyes in ecstasy. It was adorable.
Thank you so much for giving me the image of the happy pigeon closing its eyes. I’m going to turn into a guy like the one you describe, feeding the pigeons on the upper west side. For a long time now I’ve wanted to feed the birds up here, but locals don’t want some crazy woman leaving birdseed around!! Maybe I can come up with a way of doing it. I’d love to see all the little birds get their birdseed also! Have a great holiday season Roger_Paw. Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year!!
Merry Christmas and Happy New Year to you too!!