Kestrel fight and Hawks on the library – August 1st, 2019

A Hawk-watching friend of mine saw both Sadie and Juno yesterday perched atop Bobst Library, the building that houses the Hawk nest. It was excellent news because it meant they were ‘home’ rather than out on a distant jaunt as has been their routine the last several weeks.

My telephoto lens was in the shop again, getting a new repair over the last few days so I was excited to head out and see the Hawks today.

But I saw not one sign of them in the two hours I searched the park and surrounding areas. Not seeing them was disappointing but that’s how it goes in the summer when the Hawks have no parenting duties; they’ll disappear for extended periods, traveling futher out in their territory. They’ll visit the park more frequently as autumn approaches.

I found a pretty view of the Con Edison tower (where the Hawks sometimes sit outside Union Square Park):

Hawkless:

I was in the park when I heard Blue Jays making a big racket. They were yelling back and forth to each other. I went to investigate because they make calls like that when there is a raptor around.

It was not the Hawks but fighting Kestrels the Jays appeared to be making the fuss over.

There were three Kestrels; two engaged in a battle and the third flying nearby and staying close to the action.

There were several dive-bombs before one Kestrel chased the other from the park:

This fighting happened along the southern border of the park. That was the only raptor action I saw today but it was pretty good all considered!