Bird mobbing

Part of being a raptor is dealing with mobbing by other birds. Resident Tompkins Square Red-Tailed Hawk, Amelia, is a master of patience when it comes to ignoring annoying little bullies.

Below, Amelia perches on one of the towers of St Brigid's Church while a Northern Mockingbird watches her. 

The Mockingbird yells at her, but Amelia barely glances its way.

The Mockingbird is not having it, though, and goes on the offense.

It jabs Amelia in the back with its feet.

The Mockingbird went at her several times, but Amelia just gave it a dirty look and went on about her day.

This is Amelia earlier in the summer perched on the cross of St Nicholas of Myra Church on a rainy day. The weather didn't keep a Blue Jay from pestering her.

A male Kestrel joined the Blue Jay in assaulting the hawk.

The Kestrel succeeded in getting Amelia riled up.

Sometimes the mobber becomes the target, like this female Kestrel getting side-swiped by a Blue Jay.

This young Red-Tailed Hawk  in Brooklyn gets mobbed by an American Crow.

And this adult Red-Tailed Hawk is chased by a Red-Winged Blackbird at Governors Island.

Here's another hawk being pursued by a crow.

This is a terrible photo, but I like the way this young hawk is looking back at the Kestrel chasing it. 

Back in 2018, Amelia and her fledglings were all mobbed by an interesting Mockingbird that was missing its tail. 

 

 

Tompkins Square red-tailed hawk fledglings are still hunting around the park

It's getting trickier to find all three Tompkins Square Red-Tailed hawk fledglings, but they're still spending time in the park. Lately, they've often been hidden in the dense leaves of trees as they get better at being hunters.

This one suddenly appeared in the open during a recent visit when it dove after...something.

Not to worry, though, as the young hawks are still making appearances for photo-ops. 

Two of the three were spotted chasing after things in one of the garden areas recently, but it's getting harder to catch them together like this.

Look at those legs!

All three fledglings are able to catch their own prey now, but they still call on mom and dad to help feed them. The big American Elm tree west of the Temperance Fountain is a popular spot for them to hang out and eat.

When it's hot, the birds will hold their wings out to cool off. They also open their mouths, which is normal.

Diving like dad, Charlie.

They're looking more grown up every day.

Tompkins Square hawks dealing with the weather

We've had some crazy weather over the last week including record high temperatures, dangerous air from Canadian wildfire smoke, and several severe rain storms. While I can take shelter when ever I want, our wildlife is outside 24/7 enduring these conditions.

Saturday afternoon, I found one of the Tompkins Square Red-Tailed Hawk fledglings drying out after a rain storm. It was perched on a structure south of the park on 7th Street, where it was able to take advantage of a breeze. 

A few minutes prior, I found mom Amelia in the park during a downpour. She looked miserable and would probably hate this photo of her, LOL.

Before the cleansing rain, we had a couple of days of orangish-brown smoky skies caused by wildfires in Ontario. I had to wear a mask because the air irritated my lungs, but the birds were out and about as usual. I saw two of the three fledglings soaring over the park - this is a photo of one of them. The sky and bird look muddy.

And here's a view of Amelia perched on Most Holy Redeemer in the murk. She's barely visible at the bottom left of the dome.

Although the air was bad for a few days, it wasn't as bad as June 7, 2023, when the sky over NYC turned a surreal orange. I always worry about the wildlife during these times, having to breathe such bad quality air. When the rain finally comes, it must feel like a relief.