Wednesday, March 21, 2018

Whole lotta mating going on

A fellow hawk-watcher told me he saw Christo and Dora mating during the snowfall in Tompkins Square this morning, so I trekked out in the storm this afternoon to see for myself.  By the time I arrived, Christo was off running errands, but I found Dora perched in exactly the same place she spent one of the previous snowstorms, back on March 7.

Dora in the snow

Some video from today:



Christo and Dora have been spending a lot of time together in the park.  On Monday, I caught up with Dora who was enjoying the late afternoon sun despite being mobbed by a pesky blue jay.

Dora and a pesky blue jay

Dora and a pesky blue jay

Christo soon brought Dora a rat, which she took to a nearby tree to eat.  As she did, Christo perched across the street and gazed her way.

Christo

Before Dora could even finish her dinner, Christo swooped into the park and pounced on her back.

Christo and Dora mating

Dora made sure to hang on to the rat.

Christo and Dora mating

Christo and Dora mating

With this much mating going on, Dora could lay eggs any time.  In the past, the Washington Square hawks have laid eggs a day or two before Tompkins Square.  As of today, the Washington Square hawks have not started nesting, but you can tune in to Roger Paw's blog for the latest updates on what is happening with Bobby and Sadie.

Christo and Dora

After mating, Christo went to work on the nest and Dora took her rat to a higher branch to finish eating.

Dora takes off with a rat dinner

Dora takes off with a rat dinner

I hope to have an update on the status of Barucha/Nora soon.





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