I had just entered Washington Square Park when I saw one of the resident Hawks sitting on a favorite building perch:
I could not definitively identify the Hawk but I think it was the male Juno.
I watched the Hawk for a few minutes when I turned around and spotted a second Hawk in a tree behind me!
It was the banded Red-tailed Hawk I followed around the park on January 6th. This Hawk had been banded and released in New Jersey last October.
He looked in the other Hawk’s general direction:
Looking up at the sky:
Yawn:
Stretch:
Relaxed kick-out:
You can see his leg band in this pic below:
I zoomed in on the band number and saw they matched the numbers from the other day.
I was waiting to see if the other Hawk would notice and kick this stranger Hawk out but so far there was no contact between them.
The banded Hawk flew low over a lawn then to an evergreen nearly 20 minutes after I first spotted it:
He picked up some leftover pigeon and dug in:
I had so many questions now. Whose pigeon was this? Was it Sadie, Juno, or this Hawk who originally killed it and left it in this tree for later? If this was the banded Hawk’s leftovers, he is getting awfully comfortable in this park. Will he fight to stay in the park and become Sadie’s next mate? When will the resident Hawks fight and escort him away from their territory (or even will they)?
The Hawk ate for 15 minutes.
Stretch and spin:
Scrunch and spring:
Flying to a tree at the southwest corner of the park:
A squirrel sat near him and preened for a few minutes before crawling down the tree.
The Hawk on the distant red tile roof was gone by this point.
The Hawk digested for 15 minutes then dove out of the park and toward an air conditioner:
Grabbing at another pigeon? Unfortunately, I didn’t catch all the action:
The Hawk then flew south, turned the corner at 3rd Street, then flew west:
I walked west to 6th Avenue and caught him flying over the avenue and continuing westward.
He is in the center of the picture below (the taller red building behind him, Our Lady of Pompeii church in the background):
I saw him again as he flew further west but he disappeared behind some buildings.
I returned to the park after several minutes of searching but saw no other Hawks for the rest of my visit.
Spotting the pigeon I’ve nicknamed Dover while on my way out:
This new to the park, hawk is quite a handsome fellow. Is there an estimate of his age?
As he sits among the pine boughs, red tail feathers in contrast, he could be an ornamental hawk for the season…he is handsome!
Hope he stays and gives Juno a run for courting Sadie.
He really is quite handsome. We know he’s at least 2 years old because he has a full set of adult red feathers but I can’t gauge exactly how much older than that he is although his demeanor is youthful.
Gorgeous pix! They love to parade themselves for you! Missing you – Rena and David
Thanks, Rena! Nice to hear from you. These Hawks are so beautiful. They still take my breath away sometimes. 🙂
Love those red feathers. Impressive sightings as always. I haven’t seen any hawks in quite some time! There was so much drama last season I’d be happy to have a quiet season with high fledgling survival this time !
Shame you keep missing them! Yes, I’m cheering them on to have a successful breeding season this year.