Monday, January 12, 2015

Catching up with Christo and Dora

There's a lot of hawk action in Tompkins Square.  Christo and Dora are spending more time in the park and with each other.  The last few days have been a thrill to watch them hunt and interact with each other.

Here's Christo on one of his favorite lamp perches near St Brigid's.

Christo perches in front of St Brigids

He sits on the lamps quite often, but I don't think I've ever seen Dora perch on one.

Christo

The same can be said for the fences - Christo seems to have no fear being down low and near people, but I don't think I've ever seen Dora sit on a fence or bench.  That's not to say she doesn't do it, but she seems to stay above head level.

Christo in Tompkins Square

Christo leaps from a fence in the late afternoon sun.

Christo

Here they are together and you can see the difference in their coloring - Dora is on the left and Christo is on the right.  He has a very golden head while Dora is darker.  She is also larger and has a rounder face.

Dora and Christo in Tompkins Square

I watched Christo actively hunting one afternoon, but after failing to catch anything, he took a break and dug up some leftovers in the snow.  After snacking on what looked like frozen jerky, he resumed swooping around the park.  Later, as Dora ate a rat on a branch, Christo cleaned up the scraps Dora dropped on the ground.  I love how neat and tidy he is.

Christo in the snow

Meanwhile, Dora takes a rat on a sight-seeing tour of St Brigid's.

Dora with a rat

And Christo nabs another rat near the men's room.

Christo nabs a rat

Playing around on a fire escape on 7th Street... 

Christo 

Christo has been roosting in the trees along 7th Street between Aves A & B.  I'm not sure where Dora goes at night, but I saw her settle into a tree late one evening near Ave B & 9th Street.

A parting shot of Christo....

Christo

See more hawk photos on my Flickr page.

Previous hawk posts.

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