It had been two weeks since I last saw Juno and Sadie Hawks but I saw them today which was great. I saw a flash of a Hawk a couple of days ago but didn’t get a photo in time.
I first saw Juno circling just northwest of the park after 50 minutes of searching for the Hawks:
Sadie too was circling:
The two Hawks then paired up and circled close together. They followed each other, mirroring each other’s movements:
They flew this way for a few minutes then followed each other far northeast.
It looked like they were headed to the Con Edison building which is located outside Union Square Park so off I went after them.
Sadie was indeed on the top of the tower:
She spent a lot of her time looking down at one particular area:
I watched her sit there for 20 minutes before she dove off toward whatever she had been staring at.
Tucked into a steep dive:
A distant view of her diving right above the buildings:
Detail of her in the above photo:
She rose up again, no prey in her talons.
Note the Mockingbird below her, gearing up to chase her:
This plucky bird chased her down 4th Avenue:
All the current and previous Washington Square Park Hawks have respected their neighboring Tompkins Square Park Hawks’ territory. 4th Avenue, the avenue she flew down, is close to the boundary dividing their territories.
In the interim of my absence, has Juno and Sadie become a “couple”
I guess, I should be happy , Sadie will be mating and producing new baby hawks next year…she is a good Momma Hawk. Perhaps, we saw Juno at his most savage defending his intended lady love and territories, but not a good first impression.
Are the young hawks growing into new adults in the WSP, independent in finding food and surviving on their own? Life goes on , does it not.
Yes, it looks like the two Hawks are well-bonded so it bodes well for next season. The fledglings have not been seen in weeks so there’s no telling how they are. You will have to go back to my older posts for the details but I didn’t see them hunt on their own or return to the park grounds after their releases.
Tremendous!
It was such a relief to see them doing so well!
I see you have your long-distance lens repaired! Excellent pictures, as always. Any word on the 3 little ones?
I’m very glad to have my telephoto lens back! There’s been no updates on the fledglings for weeks. There’ve been no sightings of the two that were released back into the park and I assume the one at The Raptor Trust is doing well. I have been told that that facility is holding onto it until it’s ready to hunt on its own at the very least.