There was a lot of bird activity in Washington Square Park today. A Red-bellied Woodpecker flitted about a few trees, the pigeons flew often, and the resident Red-tailed Hawks mated.
One of the Hawks was flying along the western side of the park when I arrived. It soon disappeared southward.
Red-bellied Woodpecker:
Pigeon flock balled up near the arch:
The pigeon I’ve nicknamed Dover darted toward and perched atop a lamp as usual:
You can see many more pictures of Dover perching on various lamps in this February 10th post.
Dover caught a quick nap in one of the eastern trees later:
Sadie landed on the Hawks’ regular One Fifth Avenue perch a half hour after I last saw one of the Hawks:
She watched something in the sky. I assume she was watching Bobby because he soon flew to her and mated with her:
They rested and preened:
I watched the Hawks sit for 20 minutes before I had to go.
Winter truly is the perfect time to observe raptors and birds. They become so much more conspicuous with the leaves off the trees, and there’s fewer daylight hours so the hawks can be observed mating.
The red-bellied woodpecker is gorgeous, and it’s going to snow this weekend so Dover will blend right in. And I wouldn’t be too surprised to see the beautiful Cooper’s Hawk in the park again soon. Charles Bonaparte, a French ornithologist and nephew of Emperor Napoleon, named the hawk after William Cooper, an American naturalist who collected a specimen of the hawk in 1828.
Stay warm this weekend if you venture out to the park. Many thanks for the beautiful photographs** Carlene
Agreed with everything in your comment. Thank you, Carlene! I will keep an eye out for those Cooper’s Hawks.