Bobby was on his high One Fifth Avenue perch when I arrived in Washington Square Park:
He flew off and headed west 8 minutes later.
It was several more minutes before he returned to the park. He circled over the park square several times:
He flew to the nest after a few minutes of his flying about:
Sadie got up and jumped out for her break from the eggs:
She flew north of the park but I couldn’t find her.
I took in some of the spring blossom sights while I awaited her return:
I found her 12 minutes later, sitting on the Hawks’ favorite northwest building top:
She had circled around back to the park without me seeing!
She preened a little then flew to the southwest corner building:
Scrunch and spring:
I lost her again as she circled west of the park.
Dover the pigeon was out and about:
He joined some of his pigeon companions in a western tree:
Nearly 20 minutes passed when all of a sudden I heard what sounded like a Hawk screaming overhead. But the call was odd.
I looked around and saw three Hawks ‘yelling’ as they circled above. It was Bobby and Sadie with a young Red-tailed Hawk with them.
The youngster is on the left, Sadie is in the middle, and Bobby is on the right:
There was no fighting between them, only a few ‘words’. The three dispersed in different directions; the young Hawk flew south, Bobby went east, and Sadie stayed back and landed on a building near the nest:
She then dropped down and dove right to the nest:
It was pretty exciting action. All looks so calm as we watch the Hawks on the nest cam but there can be so much activity happening outside the nest at any given moment.
Always worried when either parent leaves the nest w/eggs. Is there any length of time that the eggs can safely be left alone without brooding? Always thought that they had to be constantly warmed or else would die? Is there any literature on this, please? Thanks!
Love the blossoms!!
Don’t worry, the longest the Hawks usually leave the eggs is around 20 minutes and the eggs were fine. I’m sure there’s literature out there but I’m going by what I have observed. Thanks, Susan!
Is this hawk behavior due to the eggs in the nest?
Or just ordinary hawkish, “get out of my park” and territory?
Loved the softer sights of Spring in the park…does Dover have any similarly marked family?
Thanks, Roger_Paw.
The Hawks chase away other Hawk visitors during all the seasons but they may be more territorial now because of the eggs.
I didn’t notice any flower/leaf buds when I was last in the park so it’s pretty cool to see them out in such nice colors already.
There are a few other pigeons with similar markings as Dover. The variation is really nice. I’ll have to take pictures of the other ones too!
Wow, great job capturing the action! In order to feed their young I imagine being territorial is a necessary thing. That young hawk will not be making the mistake of flying into their home sky anytime soon. However, could it be one of their juveniles returning to the former nesting site?
The park looks lovely at this time of year, thanks for sharing for those of us on the other coast. Sunday
I had 2 Bald Eagles, 2 Ravens, 3 Hawks, and numerous coyotes out on the property. Spring has Sprung in the PNW!
Hi! I think the odds are against that young Hawk being one of the residents’ offspring but more likely a strange youngster passing through. I love hearing about your visitors, thank you!