The Washington Square Park tree that Cathy Horvath of WINORR (Wildlife In Need of Rescue and Rehabilitation) released two of this summer’s fledglings in has been cut down. All that remains is this stump:
The first release was on June 16th and the second release was on June 25th. The park had removed several diseased trees during the summer but I was surprised to see that this tree must have been removed pretty recently.
I was walking toward the park square when Dover the pigeon crossed my path:
I had looked around the park for the resident Red-tailed Hawks for about 15 minutes when all of a sudden a Hawk-watching friend I was with turned around and immediately spotted Juno sitting on a Two Fifth Avenue terrace railing:
He was puffed up and relaxed:
I noticed Sadie Hawk flying along the western trees. She landed on the building sitting outside the southwestern corner of the park. I looked back toward Juno and he was gone! He had headed over to Sadie without my seeing. He had perched on the terrace railing for 20 minutes.
Sadie on the lower perch:
Sadie flew west after a minute. She reappeared a couple of minutes later.
Juno in the background:
Sadie circled over the park square and dove around a pigeon flock:
She swooped around then landed on NYU’s Silver Center roof railing. This building is located outside the eastern side of the park:
She flew off after 6 minutes:
She flew above the square then circled higher and higher.
Juno landed on the same Silver Center railing 2 minutes after Sadie had flown off it:
He flew off after a few seconds:
He flew west of the park then perched on the building that sits at the northwest corner of the park:
Dover continued milling about:
Juno settled down and preened and sunned on his perch. A snap of Juno before leaving:
Just doing what hawks do , but definitely a courting pair of beautiful strong hawks.
They were vividly displayed against the blue clear skies of Washington Park.
Many thanks for the pics, Roger Paw.
It was a great birding day. It was so nice to have them so active right in the park.
Amazing update. I’m always looking from then but rarely find them. It’s wonderful to have these stories and images! Thanks!
My pleasure! Juno has perched on several 2 Fifth Avenue terrace railings so that’s a good spot to look first.
Is Dover an anomaly or are there other pigeons with similar markings? I’d like to think there may be others like him.
Yes, there are several pigeons with similar coloring. Once on a while you’ll see a pigeon with a ‘traditional’ gray coloring but with a bit of black and white detail or the other way around.