A young Red-tailed Hawk visited Washington Square Park today. A Cooper’s Hawk did as well. The Cooper’s Hawk focused on chasing park pigeons while the juvenile Red-tail caught two rodents before being chased away by Bobby and Sadie. It was a very exciting bit of action over my three hour visit.
The young Hawk sitting on a branch on the western side of the park:
A nubby bit on the branch? It must be attacked!
The youngster flew low to the ground while chasing a squirrel before it rose up and flew out of the park. I lost sight of it after it flew to another area.
I went looking for the Cooper’s Hawk and found it as it flew back toward the park trees:
It dashed through the trees so quickly! That was the last I saw of it for the day:
I found the young Red-tail again so I stuck close to it:
It spent the next while flying from perch to perch and randomly chasing squirrels before seriously hunting rodents:
I have no idea what this man was doing. He saw the Hawk land, walked over to it, stretched his hands out, then walked back to the chess players. The Hawk didn’t even jump off its perch. It stayed on the fence before deciding to fly to a tree after the man had left:
Right after catching a rat in the grass:
It mantled (spreading its wings out protectively over its catch):
The rat and some leaves in the Hawk’s talons:
It flew to a few different branches with the rat before settling down:
The Hawk then surprised me by not eating the rat. He placed the rat on top of a wide branch then stepped a foot away from it. The Hawk would glance over at it from time to time. I then noticed that the Hawk’s crop was a bit full so I guess he wasn’t hungry and was saving the rat for later.
Well, I had no way to tell him that he may as well forget it because as soon as the resident Hawks saw him, he’d be chased away from the park altogether.
Dashing to another tree:
Digging into a hole for a squirrel with no luck:
Catching a mouse:
He was just about to eat the mouse when Bobby showed up and started chasing and charging him:
They flew around the west side of the park and followed one another from tree to tree.
The youngster would chirp loudly, sounding quite plaintive. But Bobby reacted by chasing it again:
Bobby looked up at who I think was Sadie about to join in:
The juvenile screaming as Bobby charged at him:
Leaping from another tree:
The chasing went on for 10 minutes. Bobby chased the youngster out of the trees and I think it was Sadie I saw on an antenna just north of the park:
The three Hawks then flew high up and circled in the sky together. The young Hawk then dove quickly north from the park.
Bobby and Sadie circling close together seconds later:
Bobby and Sadie separated and flew in different directions. All the Hawks were out of view now so I took my chance to leave the park.
I saw who might have been the same Ovenbird I’ve seen before on October 22nd and the 29th:
I just love ur pics and commentary. Been following u for years.
I guess the young hawk is a ‘millennial’ hawk – doesn’t want to leave his parents house, or goes and comes back!!
Have a great day!
Thanks, Karen! I’m honored you’ve been following my site all this time.
I am not sure that this juvenile was one of their kids or was a passing migrator. But in either case, it’s always exciting watching the resident Hawks drive out interlopers. 🙂
Any chance that the juvie was one of Bobbie and Sadie’s own? They, too, would be chased off at some point to find their own turf, right?
Great pics as always Roger Paw.
It’s possible the juvie was one of theirs but it’s difficult to make that ID because the fledglings’ markings from the last time I saw them and this Hawk’s markings don’t match up. (Edit: Markings change over time which makes it difficult to conclusively identify younger versus older juveniles.) Yes, the adults would have chased away their kids too if they stuck around too long in the summer.
It’s Fall Migration now and this Hawk could have been a migrant or one of the other city’s Hawks exploring.
Another great post!
Like Karen, I have been following your posts for years. They are always a bright spot in my day. And I love the daily updates on “our” wonderful Red-tails.
Thanks.
Thanks, Sarah! I appreciate that!
You and our hawks ,did indeed , have a busy day!
Thanks always , Roger_Paw , for all your efforts …for the residents of WSP and us.
It was a busy and exciting day. I stuck around anticipating the adults would defend their territory and they did not disappoint! Thank you, Jeanne!
How exciting! Great pix. One thing that continues to amaze me, though, is how absolutely oblivious most park people are to all this going on around them. Wonderful to have you out there really SEEING.
Yes, it’s especially fun when someone who has lived in the neighborhood for years will be shocked when I tell them the Hawks have lived in the park for the last 8 years. They will add that they walk through the park every time but never saw them before. Now they know to look out for the Hawks every time they pass through. 🙂 Thanks, Mindy!
It just suits the little anthropomorphizing that’s allowable these days! Juvenile shows Dad how proficient he/she is in providing for himself, stashes one kill and then gets another, only to have Dad scream “Get out of here!” instead. Mom doesn’t intervene, so the youngster decides to leave well enough alone and skedaddles…have to feel a little sorry for the baby not having his/her accomplishment cheered…but Mother Nature prevails! Love the pix…as usual they are so evocative!
Hi, Rena! It’s not clear that the young Hawk was one of Bobby and Sadie’s offspring but yeah, I felt bad that it did so well catching a rat only to never get to eat it later. 🙂