A few photos of Amelia and Charlie

The Tompkins Square Park hawk fledglings are dispersing, moving further away from the park and embarking on their independent lives. I've still been seeing one in the park and one of the others around the neighborhood, but they are getting harder to find.

After such a busy nesting season, mom Amelia and dad Charlie can take a bit of a break. I've been seeing them hanging out a lot on the dome of Most Holy Redeemer church. In the photo below, Charlie is on the lower left and Amelia is on the upper right. 

Another angle:

From the church tower, the hawks no doubt have an excellent view of the city and can likely see their offspring wherever they are in the neighborhood.

 

This is Amelia on a different day. She seems to like that spot. 

Charlie and Amelia in the air together:

Here is the pair together on top of the cross. They are both molting and looking a little rugged. Charlie is the one closer to the camera.

This is Amelia earlier this summer before she started molting. In this photo, she still has all twelve of her tail feathers. When I saw her the other day, I think I counted six or seven.

This tiny bare branch at the top of a tree in Tompkins Square is one of Amelia's favorite perches. It may be the highest point in the park.

Back when we had an unpleasant heat wave, I caught Charlie taking a dip in the rain gutter of St Brigid's church.

This photo was taken earlier this week as Charlie perched on the cross of St Brigid's. It was late in the afternoon and there had been a break in the humidity. He seemed content perched up there, just relaxing and enjoying the breeze.

Charlie vs. a squirrel

I found Red-Tailed Hawk, Charlie, in Tompkins Square the other day being tormented by a squirrel. He started out in one tree, got chased out by a squirrel, and flew to another tree where a second squirrel confronted him.

He tried to intimidate the squirrel into leaving him alone.

The squirrel, however, didn't back down easily.

The park squirrels are very territorial and possessive of their trees. They don't want the hawks around and will do everything they can to get the birds out of their trees.

Always willing to join the fray, a Blue Jay snuck up behind Charlie to help remove him from his perch.

Annoyed, Charlie, threatened the squirrel with his talons, but ended up flying to another tree.

In the new tree, Charlie quickly discovered it, too, had its own resident guardian squirrel.

This squirrel seemed to tease the hawk, crawling along the bottom of the branch where Charlie couldn't reach it.

I have to wonder if all the animals in the park know each other. Or, at least, recognize each other. They live in a small area and the squirrels stick to their own territories. Maybe these two have had previous interactions.

It's worth noting it's the time of year when the hawks molt, so Charlie is looking a little ragged around the face.

Here is a post from a year ago showing Charlie going through his summer molt. And this post from 2024 shows Christo looking especially rough.

 

Harassment by squirrels wasn't the only annoyance for Charlie on this same afternoon. He took refuge on the cross of St Brigid's Church, but the Blue Jays found him there.

This particular jay was really persistent.

As always, the hawk displayed a lot of patience and tolerance of the bullying. When they are perched, there is not much a hawk can do when mobbed by smaller birds who are more agile. I've noticed the Blue Jays will keep up their pestering for a while, but will eventually give up and go away, often returning later if the hawk is still there. 

 

Bald Eagle mobbed by Kingbirds

Last week, I posted some photos of Red-Tailed Hawk, Amelia, being mobbed by a Northern Mockingbird. I've always thought Mockingbirds to be the gutsiest of all the small birds when it comes to assaulting raptors. A recent experience, however, has changed my mind. 

I now declare Eastern Kingbirds masters of mobbing.

I was hiking on a rainy day when I heard a Kingbird calling, followed by the cries of a young Bald Eagle. It turns out the Eagle had committed the crime of perching in the Kingbird's tree. 

A pair of Kingbirds harassed the Eagle until it flew out of the tree, at which point they followed and aggressively bit the Eagle on the back and head.

This was the first time I'd ever seen the golden crowns of the Kingbirds (visible in the photo below), a sign they were really riled up.

This was one of the most exciting bird observations I've had, so I was annoyed that it happened on a dark rainy day with bad light, but I'm happy to have been able to get these photos even if they aren't the best quality.

In the end, the Kingbirds chased the Eagle far from their tree, which they returned to, victorious.

 

On the same day, I found an adult Bald Eagle being bullied by a Mockingbird. 

It was interesting to note that the Mockingbird approached the adult Eagle from behind and bit its tail rather than going for the head. Maybe the Mockingbird recognized that this was a more experienced and threatening enemy than the young inexperienced Eagle. 

 

Eventually, the persistent Mockingbird won this battle as well, driving the Eagle off its perch and out of the area.