Monday, June 29, 2020

Queer Liberation March for Black Lives and Against Police Brutality

I attended the 2020 Queer Liberation March for Black Lives and Against Police Brutality this last Sunday which began with a rally at Foley Square, followed by a march up to Washington Square Park. It was a powerful showing of thousands of people who turned out in support of LGBTQ rights and in solidarity with Black Lives Matter.

Queer Liberation March/BLM

Queer Liberation March/BLM

Queer Liberation March/BLM

Queer Liberation March/BLM

Queer Liberation March/BLM

Queer Liberation March/BLM

Queer Liberation March/BLM

Queer Liberation March/BLM

Queer Liberation March/BLM

Queer Liberation March/BLM

Queer Liberation March/BLM

Queer Liberation March/BLM

Queer Liberation March/BLM

Queer Liberation March/BLM

Queer Liberation March/BLM

Queer Liberation March/BLM

Queer Liberation March/BLM

Queer Liberation March/BLM

Queer Liberation March/BLM

Queer Liberation March/BLM


Queer Liberation March/BLM

Queer Liberation March/BLM

This was the scene looking up 5th Avenue as the marchers entered Washington Square Park. My zoom lens makes the crowd look more compact than it was - throughout the event, I was always able to keep my distance from people and I never felt that people were too close at any time. The vast majority wore masks.

Queer Liberation March/BLM

The previous day, I joined a Black Lives Matter march from Washington Square Park to City Hall. This was a much smaller group, but powerful nonetheless. What the following photos do not show is the chanting of names - Breonna Taylor, George Floyd, Tamir Rice, Layleen Polanco, Philando Castile - as we made our way through the streets of Soho. As the names of the victims of police brutality echoed through the canyons of empty storefronts, I was overcome with emotion.

Defund the police BLM march

Defund the police BLM march


For those interested in helping but cannot attend protests or rallies, here is a comprehensive list of organizations and funds where you can donate to support Black Lives Matter.


See more of my photos from the 2020 Queer Liberation March here.

See more of my photos from recent NYC protests here.

Friday, June 26, 2020

Tompkins red-tail fledglings growing up fast, but continue to entertain

This week saw some significant developments for the Tompkins Square Park red-tailed hawk fledglings. At least one of them has been using its "adult" voice, the classic red-tail kee-eeeee-arr, in addition to the juvenile whines and begging calls.

Another (or the same one?) has been soaring over the park, flying much more like an adult. Until now, the young hawks have been flying below the treeline.

And, at least one has been spotted outside the park on the surrounding buildings.

Tompkins red-tail fledgling ventures out of the park

The hawks are becoming much more independent, but the three siblings continue to stay close to one another and play together, which has been a real treat to observe. With all the stresses of the human world going on, watching the hawks frolic in the grass, even for just a few minutes, has been essential for keeping my mental health in check.

Tompkins Square red-tail fledglings play in the grass

Tompkins Square red-tail fledglings play in the grass

Tompkins Square red-tail fledglings play in the grass

Tompkins Square red-tail fledglings play in the grass

Red-tailed hawk fledgling with a stick

I know not everyone has access to outdoor space and/or nature. During this time of lock-down and social distancing, I have limited my time spent in the park and have to avoid it when there are too many people present. Even so, I realize it's a privilege to be able to visit the hawks and hope sharing these photos can bring some cheer to people who are unable to be present this hawk-watching season.

Tompkins Square red-tail fledgling

As the hawks practice hunting by playing with sticks and leaves, they are honing their skills to eventually catch real prey.

Tompkins red-tail fledgling chases a squirrel

To date, the park squirrels continue to out-maneuver the hawks, but you can see the fledglings are trying to figure out how to catch one.

Tompkins red-tail fledgling eyes a squirrel

Tompkins Square red-tail fledglings eye a squirrel

It's been almost a month since the hawks fledged the nest, and they're all flying and swooping around the park like pros, but there's still some learning to do when it comes to landing and taking off from trees. The fledgling below became entangled in brambly sticks when it tried to take off, and hung upside-down for a few seconds before righting itself.

Fledgling hawk still getting the hang of flying and landing

Looking mature:

Tompkins red-tail fledgling

Tompkins red-tail fledgling

Meanwhile, mom Amelia and dad Christo are present, but have been giving the kids much more space to fly around and play in the park. The parents have been spending more time outside the park (taking some well-deserved breaks!) but are always keeping an eye on things. As the fledglings are still dependent on them for food, mom and dad still make meal deliveries.

In the photo below, Christo (right) has just given Amelia (left) a bird, which she would give to one of the fledglings. In this case, the kid swooped in and stole the bird away from her, another sign of increasing independence.

Amelia and Christo

On a recent morning, Amelia (left) fed one of the kids breakfast.

Amelia feeds one of her kids

Amelia and fledgling (both eyeing a squirrel out of frame):

Amelia and one of her kids

As the parents are directly feeding the fledglings less and less, they are leaving food around the park for the young hawks to retrieve and feed themselves. Below, a fledgling takes the remains of a pigeon up to a fence to eat. Before the skateboard/basketball area opened back up last week, Christo was using the open space to leave food (sparrows, pigeons, rats and squirrels) for the young hawks to practice catching. One thing they must learn is how to take their food to a high perch where they can safely eat.

Tompkins Square red-tail fledgling with pigeon

Two kids on the prowl:

Tompkins Square red-tail fledglings

The young hawks have been amusing people by flying very low and close. There are times when they fly straight at me, too close for my camera to focus. When this happens, I just stand there and enjoy watching the show.

Tompkins Square red-tail fledgling

It's great to see the hawks making people happy.

Red-tailed hawk fledgling

Tompkins Square red-tail fledgling

Tompkins Square red-tail fledgling

People have been asking me how long the fledglings will stay in the park. It's hard to say, but they generally disperse by late July or early August. As soon as they can feed themselves, the hawks will no longer need their parents, and will start exploring the world beyond the park.

Red-tailed hawk fledgling

Friday, June 19, 2020

Tompkins red-tail fledgling update: some milestones achieved

The Tompkins Square red-tailed hawk fledglings have been advancing so quickly, I'm already behind on posting photos. Each day brings a lot of activity and it can often be hard to keep up with the little guys. This is good news as it means they are healthy and doing really well.

Tompkins Square red-tail fledglings

Today marks the first day the playgrounds and dog run are open again in Tompkins Square Park since the city went on lock-down several weeks ago. Until now, the young hawks have been using the closed areas to play and practice their hunting skills, so they will need to adjust to the new environment.

Even dad Christo (below) has been taking advantage of the lack of human activity in the skateboard/basketball area to feed his kids on the ground and drop food off for them to practice hunting.

Christo and one  of his kids

In the photo above, you can really see the difference in coloring between Christo and the juvenile. Christo has the red tail, but he is also a much lighter brown overall, and lacks the heavy dark speckling on his belly.

The young hawks have been using sticks and leaves to hone their hunting skills.

Playing with leaves

Tompkins Square red-tailed fledgling

Tompkins Square red-tailed fledgling

I never saw any of the hawks interested in the tennis ball that's in these photos. I believe it was left behind by someone and not placed there deliberately. It would be unethical to bait the hawks with food or objects in order to get a photo. They seem to prefer natural playthings anyway.

Tompkins Square red-tailed fledgling

Tompkins Square red-tailed fledgling

Tompkins Square red-tailed fledgling

Tompkins Square red-tailed fledgling

Tompkins Square red-tailed fledgling

Flying while carrying food takes practice!

Tompkins Square red-tailed fledgling

Tompkins Square red-tailed fledgling

While Christo has shown his kids how to catch squirrels, to date, none of them have managed to get one on their own.

Red-tail fledgling encounters a squirrel

Red-tail fledgling encounters squirrels

Parents Christo and Amelia are still watching over the fledglings very closely and are providing food when necessary, but I've noticed they are pushing the young hawks more and more to try and catch their own meals. Until that happens, mom and dad are still on hand to provide assistance. Below, a fledgling begs Amelia for a bite.

Tompkins fledgling sharing a pigeon with mom

As soon as it could, the fledgling snatched the pigeon away from Amelia and flew it to another tree. This is an important skill for the hawks to learn.  Although the hawk successfully carried the food away, it didn't do so well landing with it. This is another feat they must all learn as they go.

Red-tail fledgling struggles with prey

Red-tail fledgling struggles with prey

Perching on a branch without dropping the food is harder than it looks!

Red-tail fledgling struggles with prey

On this day, this fledgling did something else I'd not yet observed - it made an adult hawk cry. Until now, all the young hawks have been making adolescent squealing sounds, but something caused this fledgling to let out a classic red-tail scream.

Another milestone achieved this week was leaving the park. One of the fledglings was seen perched on the cross of St Nicholas of Myra church on Avenue A and 10th Street yesterday morning. Later in the day, I saw one (not sure if it was the same one) perched on a building. As far as I know, this is the first time any of them have ventured outside the park boundaries.

People have been asking me how long the the hawks will stay in the park. There's no set deadline, but based on past fledgling behavior, they usually stick around to mid-July or early August. We've seen some fledglings stay as long as September, but they are all different and it mostly depends on how quickly they learn to feed themselves. Once they are no longer dependent on their parents, there is nothing to prevent them from exploring the larger world.

Until then, every moment with them is precious and I am so grateful to be able to observe them regularly. Their antics have been keeping my spirits up during this extremely stressful time.

Fly-by

As the hawks continue to learn how to hunt and get more bold exploring their environment, we need to be aware of them and be careful not to interfere with what they're doing. The fledglings have a high tolerance for human activity, but they have to learn to be wary of people in order to stay out of trouble.

A few days ago, this fledgling made a brief visit to the main lawn when it was crowded with people and dogs. These people respected its space and left the hawk alone, but the bird was in a very vulnerable position.

Any wine left?

The fledglings (and Christo) often perch on the low fences in the park, placing them in close proximity to people. When this happens, please give them space. The person below was very excited the hawk was so close, but she is WAY too close to the bird. Not visible in the photo is the wall out of frame to the right and the cyclone fence in the background. The hawk was essentially penned in, without a means to safely fly away.

Too close

As summer sets in and more people are in the park, there may be more close encounters with the hawks. Please take care and be mindful of them. When they're playing on the grass, they're just fine (this is normal behavior) and when they swoop low and come close, just allow them to do their thing and enjoy the experience.