Dinner with Charlie the Red-Tailed Hawk

On a recent visit to Tompkins Square, I found resident male Red-Tailed Hawk, Charlie.

He was calmly perched in a tree when a squirrel came along to taunt him.

I soon realized Charlie had been perched on that particular branch because there was a dead pigeon on the ground below, presumably dropped by him just before I arrived. He soon came down to retrieve it.

You can see he still has bright yellowish eyes, indicating he's young. His eyes will darken with age.

After looking around a few seconds, Charlie flew the pigeon to a tree where he could safely eat it.

After eating his fill, he took the leftovers to another tree and called to Amelia.

Seeing her in another tree, he flew the pigeon to her.

Amelia was hidden in thick branches, so I couldn't get a photo of her accepting dinner. Instead, I stuck with Charlie who perched in a nearby tree, soaking in the sun on this cold day.

Eventually, he took off and soared away...

Red-Shouldered Hawk in the neighborhood

There has been an immature Red-Shouldered Hawk hanging around the neighborhood.

It seems to avoid Tompkins Square Park, territory of the resident Red-Tails, and has scoped out an area where it is finding success hunting pigeons and rats.

If there is prey readily available, a hawk may camp out for several days or weeks.

In the photo below, you can see the heat waves coming out of the chimney where the hawk was perched. I can't help but wonder if the hawk was taking advantage of warm chimneys on this extremely cold day.

Red-Shouldered Hawks are not that rare, but we don't see many of them in the city, so it was exciting to see this one making a living in this area. I hope it sticks around for the remainder of winter.

 

 

There can never be too many ducks

Winter is my favorite time to see ducks, and some really interesting ones can be found in the waters around NYC.

I was really excited to find this female Common Eider off the beach at Coney Island. 

She is my first and I revisited her many times to get a decent photo. A random snow storm hit during one of my visits, which made photos nearly impossible, so I returned the following day and found her in the same spot.

I didn't have any luck seeing a male (they are black and white), but I was really happy to get good looks at this gal.

These ducks breed in the Arctic, so seeing them this far south is pretty special.

Common Goldeneyes usually show up in winter. The males appear black and white, but the dark head is actually a deep iridescent green.

These ducks are not uncommon, but they don't appear in large numbers here, so it's pretty cool to see one.

Long-Tailed ducks are some of my favorites, so I have posted photos of them before, and don't mind sharing some more. I find their plumages really interesting.

 

This is an immature male: 

And this is an adult male in non-breeding plumage:

This one is not like the others. All the ducks above are diving ducks, and often found along the shore. Muscovy ducks are none of that. Most of the ones we seen in North America are domesticated versions, and can often be found in parks or lakes.

 

I like how varied they are in appearance. This is a male. 

This is a female.

And these are Muscovy ducklings. Squeeee!

Happy Groundhog Day

It's Groundhog Day, the day we're supposed to take advice from a rodent about whether to put away that winter coat or not. Seeing as how there are still mountains of frozen brown snow lining the streets, I'm just going to assume we should continue wearing boots and gloves.

But I will pay some respect to these critters because they manage to live among use here in the city and generally keep a low profile. They're not as visible as squirrels, raccoons or rats, so seeing one is a special experience and I'm always surprised at how big they are. 

In Manhattan, Fort Tryon Park is a good place to spot one.

The ones below were seen in Brooklyn.

Apparently Punxsutawney Phil this morning predicted six more weeks of winter, so bundle up.

 

 

Neighborhood hawks

Before the snowstorm rolled in last Sunday, I made the rounds to check on our local hawks. It's the time of year when the Tompkins Square Red-Tails are sprucing up their nest and defending their territory against other hawks.

I found Charlie in the park hunting for snacks. When he arrived a year ago, he seemed to focus solely on catching birds, but he's been spending the winter clearing the park of rats. 

Nearby, Amelia kept watch.

Both hawks can often be found perched on Most Holy Redeemer church on E 3rd Street. It offers them a great vantage point where they can look over their territory and the city. I'd love to know what the view is like from up there.

Charlie is on the left while Amelia is on the right.

I took the photos above from the street, and the ones below from a rooftop a few blocks away.

This is Amelia:

From my far-away vantage point, I later found Amelia perched on the cross of St Nicholas of Myra church on Avenue A and 10th Street. If you squint, you can see her in this photo.

This one is a little closer, but I was almost a mile away.

Back in the park, Charlie caught a rat and flew it high into a tree to eat.

A short while later, he flew off, his bulging crop visible.

Bonus: in addition to the Red-Tails, I found a couple of other hawks in the area.

 

This is an immature Red-Tail who was scoping the neighborhood and drawing the ire of Amelia, who chased it around.

And this is an adult Cooper's Hawk seen soaring around the Con Ed plant, and eventually chased off by a Kestrel.

Another Cooper's Hawk:

Winter is a good time to see raptors in the city as they migrate. Keep and eye on the sky for Bald Eagles as well.