It's officially nesting season for our local red-tailed hawks as they are now brooding eggs. Things should be quiet over the next few weeks, but we should still be able to see the new male hawk (M2) hunting and delivering food to Amelia.
I can't let the season commence without some mating photos as there's only a small window of time each year to witness it, so here you go...
M2 approaches Amelia:
It only takes a few seconds...
Afterwards, M2 brought Amelia a gift of a headless rat (in his talons).
M2 holds it up to give her a better view.
Unfortunately, they dropped the rat during the hand-off. You can see it falling in the photo below.
I waited to see if either of them would drop down to retrieve the food, but neither of them did while I was there. They may have scavenged it later.
Winter has enabled us to see the new nest fairly well, but as soon as this tree blooms, I have doubts that we'll be able to see anything at all. Below, Amelia checks out the view from the nest.
This tree should provide some nice shade for the hawks as the weather warms, so I'm happy for that.
Amelia on her porch:
In the mean time, we can enjoy watching M2 practice his hunting skills. In the photo below, he is holding a starling he nabbed from a tree a few seconds prior.
In this photo, he prepares to deliver another starling. For a while, there were flocks of starlings in the park and he seemed to like catching them over pigeons.
M2 looking for prey opportunities:
This photo shows his prominent white "eyebrows" which are one way to identify him from Amelia.
His head overall is very light, as well as his throat.
While flying, M2 looks very much like Christo, except for his bright yellow eyes (Christo's were brown).
Note: it is not possible to see into the nest, or to know how many eggs there are, but there are usually three. We will just have to wait and be surprised...stay tuned.
It's been about a month since the new male red-tailed hawk moved in to Tompkins Square Park, and he is settling in quite well. Christo set a high bar for this new young hawk, but he is proving to be up to the job.
This was the photo I took on February 24 that showed me the male hawk hanging around with Amelia was not Christo.
This hawk has bright yellowish eyes, indicating he is young, and prominent white "eyebrows". But the identifier that confirmed this hawk was not Christo is the legs. Christo had brown markings on his legs and this hawk has none (see above, left).
You can see the light eyebrows in the photo below. The male is on the left.
As they perch side-by-side, you can see the differences between Amelia (left) and the new guy (right). She is much broader across the chest, and has a darker head and eyes. The male also has more white on his throat.
Mating:
In many ways, this male is very similar to Christo, which is why many of us did not notice the difference right away. This young male actively worked on their nest, mated with Amelia, brought her food, and seemed to be going through all the same procedures Christo followed.
The biggest difference with this new male that I can see is his hunting style. He's very young (possibly only 2 years old) and he has the young energy that Christo displayed when he first arrived in Tompkins. This male loves to dive and he's been catching birds right out of the air.
This hawk started out catching starlings out of trees. Last week, I saw him dive into the middle of the lawn like a Peregrine and catch a pigeon 20 feet in the air. He was so fast, I only saw an explosion of feathers.
The only other red-tail I've seen grab a bird out of the air was Dora back in 2017.
Here he is breaking sticks for the nest:
As for a name, I don't know yet. I've been calling him "M2" (2nd male) for now until he tells us his name. Christo and Dora were named after the building where they were first seen, and Amelia was named after Amelia Earhart because she visibly loves to fly (watch her on a windy day and you will see a happy hawk). If you have any suggestions, please let me know.
M2 is a handsome hawk and I have hopes that he will be successful here. His hunting methods are startling and impressive
Amelia (left) and M2 (right) perch on the roof of the Christodora.
This photo was taken from inside Tompkins and shows Amelia (left) and M2 (right) perched on the cross of Most Holy Trinity on E 3rd Street at sunset. At this distance, you can really see the size difference between the two. Amelia is (IMO) a large hawk, and this male is on the small side, possibly a bit smaller than Christo.
Amelia is brooding eggs now, so she will be spending the next several weeks mostly hidden in the nest. During this time, the male will be responsible for feeding both of them, so we will have the opportunity to discover more about him as he hunts in and around the park.
I'm doing one more dedicated post for Christo, but he will always be remembered on this site. He is the one who started it all for me in terms of serious hawk-watching, which directly led to more expansive birding. He's responsible for me continuing to educate myself about wildlife and the environment, and I am forever grateful to him.
Just check out his magnificent bird! The photos above and below are from 2014.
This is Christo June 8, 2018 - I remember being really happy that I captured him in action as he took off after an intruder.
This is one of the last photos I took of Christo on February 13, 2025.
This photo of Christo flying past the moon with a crow was taken from Tompkins Square Park on January 26, 2018.
I was never sure what to do with this photo as the color and quality are not that great, but I thought it was funny to see Christo perched on the fence among the shoes. This was along Avenue A on April 18, 2022.
This scene of Christo on a fence holding a rat should be familiar to many people visiting the park. This is him doing his thing, making his way in a very urban world.
December 10, 2016
Zipping along Avenue A on March 15, 2017:
Nabbing a rat in the middle of the park, February 25, 2017.
Exactly a year ago, taking off from what would be his final nest in the ginkgo tree, March 12, 2024:
As Tompkins Square Park was the heart of Christo's territory, he spent most of his time in and around the park. This meant sleeping in the territory at night as well. He had several favorite roosting spots including a particular tree on the north side of the park along E 10th Street, the fire escape above Yucca Bar on Ave A & E 7th Street, and another fire escape on E 7th Street & Ave B. He would perch on the little bar that secures the fire escape to the building (see below). From that position, he could see the street, but after dark no one on the street could see him, and no one in the building could see him from their windows unless they stuck their heads out.
We can't forget how Christo had a talent for taking care of everyone in his world. He was a great dad, often "arguing" with Dora and Amelia about spending time brooding their eggs. He didn't seem to want to get up when it was time for a shift change. He also contributed equally to feeding the chicks in the nest. After the chicks fledged the nest, it was Christo who taught them to hunt and fend for themselves.
Christo's dad skills were not restricted to his own offspring. In June 2017, a fledgling from Brooklyn who had fallen from his nest, was introduced to Tompkins Square in the hopes that Christo and Dora would take him in. The plan worked. As I remember, Christo and Dora spent about an hour perched in a tree watching the new fledgling, who had been placed in the redwood tree inside the main lawn. After some "discussion" a decision was made and Dora flew off, indicating she had agreed to what ever it was they had decided. Christo then went into dad mode and cared for the new fledgling in addition to his own (they only had one that year).
The photo below shows Christo (right) supervising the young hawk as it learned to grasp food while simultaneously perching on a moving tree branch, a skill that must be learned. Christo spent the rest of the summer caring for the hawk, who came to be known as "Flatbush." I wrote a lot about the experience, which you can read about in my archives.
Winter/spring 2018 saw some drama as Dora was injured and had to be rehabbed for a few weeks before returning to the park. While she was away, nesting season began and Christo had no partner, so he took up with the resident female hawk from the Baruch Houses on Houston Street. She had apparently lost her mate, so Christo stepped up.
I visited the Baruch Houses as I'd heard about a pair of hawks building a nest there, and was stunned to see Christo bringing sticks and feeding the female! In the photo below, he is on the air-conditioner.
When Dora returned to Tompkins in early spring, Christo re-accepted her as his mate, but also continued on with the Baruch female. Neither that hawk nor Dora wanted to leave their own territories, so Christo flew back and forth between them, delivering food and helping to build the nests.
This attracted media attention at the time and he was quickly labeled a "cheater" in an attempt to make the make the story more salacious. But the reality was the better story as Christo demonstrated his instinct to be the provider for everyone in his life. He was ready and willing to bring up two families if he had to. In the end, though, Dora had to return to the rehabber, and the Baruch female either found another mate, or went off to do her own thing, so Christo ended up that season with Amelia, who is the current resident female hawk of the park. You can read about some of the drama here.
Fast-forward to February 13, 2025: Amelia perched on the cross of St Nicholas of Myra as Christo takes off.
Christo and Amelia on May 31, 2023:
Christo flying in the late afternoon sun, March 6, 2023:
In Christo's honor, I've set up a page of videos taken over the years. These have been consolidated from my YouTube channel and can be accessed in the sidebar of this website.
To conclude, I'm posting my most popular Christo video which, for what ever reason, has over 5 million views on YouTube. I'm not a videographer, and I shot this with a point-and-shoot camera way back on September 9, 2014. I was sitting on a bench behind the park offices when Christo swooped in and landed right next to me. Startled, I stood up to back away and give him space. I started filming and had no idea what he was going to do or how long it was going to take.
The result is this unedited 5-minute video of Christo the hawk catching a rat. It shows his full hunting process and demonstrates his patience as he picks out the perfect prey before quickly catching it. The video has proven to test the patience of humans as I have received many complaints on the length, LOL. This is all real and shows the actual life of a hawk. In a fast-paced world where attention spans are near zero, Christo was a great teacher of patience, perseverance, focus, and Zen.
