This post is a compilation of photos I took on October 4th, 7th, 10th, and 13th. When I last left you, a visiting fledgling had hunted in nearby Sasaki Garden.
October 4th
A fellow Hawk-watcher was in Washington Square Park the morning of October 4th when they saw a fledgling Red-tailed Hawk grab a pigeon that was on one of the lawns. The Hawk killed the pigeon but left it on the lawn. It all happened very quickly. The Hawk flew to a nearby tree.
I visited the park a couple of hours later and the pigeon was still on the lawn:
There wasn’t much else to see during the whole of my visit. The fledgling Hawk was nowhere to be found when I was in the park.
October 7th
A couple of monach butterflies flew from flower to flower in a western lawn:
The pigeon that I’ve nicknamed Dover was walking around a southern park path where I often see him:
A Gray Catbird foraged among tree berries:
American Robins were having a drink at a Sasaki Garden birdbath:
October 10th
We’re in fall bird migration so there were a few notable visitors in Washington Square Park during most of my outings.
A Black-and-white Warbler up high in a tree:
Another Monarch was feasting on the same group of flowers as the earlier butterfly:
Female Common Yellowthroat Warbler:
Turkey Vultures circled just east of the park:
They then continued traveling eastward.
Back in the park where I spotted an Ovenbird wandering around the brush:
Listening to my camera shutter clicks:
Standing at the edge of a large rat burrow:
I had mentioned in my September 13th post that a tree one of the Hawks’ fledglings had rested in was cut down to make way for a pipe. Well, here’s a shot of the pipe that that nice big tree was cut down for:
October 13th
I was happy to see an Ovenbird at the same area I saw the one on the 10th. It could have been the same one.
White-throated Sparrow:
Before I forget! No, I did not see either Sadie or Juno Hawks during any of these outings. However, a Hawk-watching friend did see one or both at random times during the last couple of weeks.
The ovenbird pics are adorable. What I really want to ask is, is it normal for a hawk to make a kill and then not eat or carry away the kill? Would it have been possible for the hawk to have noticed something about the pigeon that wasn’t right? Or do they sometimes do this as an “in-training”?
My friend who saw the action observed that the fledgling had failed to fully grab the pigeon before flying into a tree. I’ve seen the Hawks drop food before and then not bother to retrieve it if the prey fell on the ground (maybe because people were closeby). Agreed on that Ovenbird; they are super cute in person.
Thanks again Roger for so beautifully documenting the many creatures sharing space in WSP! You are a admirable bird detective, spotting these little beauties in their habitat and capturing them on’film’.
Thanks, Mimi! It’s like a treasure hunt when looking for migrating birds. It’s always a ‘win’ when you find one.
I simply love your photos of the robins. Priceless!
Thank you, Elizabeth! I realized that I take our robins for granted since they’re so common so I made a point to take a picture of some.