Governors Island Hawks - Part 1

I focus on the Red-Tailed Hawks of Tompkins Square Park on this site, but I actually observe many hawk families around the city. One of those is on Governors Island, where hawks have been nesting the last several years. I'm sitting on a mountain of photos of that family that I have never posted, so here are a few to start.

A fledgling taking a bath in a puddle on a hot day: 

Drying off on a light pole:

All dry and groomed:

Another fledgling perched in a tree:

Mom (blue band 42A) delivers a starling for lunch, which the fledgling takes from her:

Mom goes hunting around the lavender field:

She was going after rodents, but was unsuccessful with this particular attempt.

This is the adult pair (male above left) on one of the speaker poles at Fort Jay at sunset. These two successfully raised three chicks to fledge this last season.

More to come...

 

 

A few Bald Eagle photos

I've seen more Bald Eagles this year than ever before, which has been really great. They bring excitement where ever they go and each observation makes my day.

Here are two immature eagles chasing an osprey, hoping to steal its fish. 

The two bullies were relentless, but the osprey managed to out-fly them.

This is one of the eagles.

Another immature eagle:

Now with a fish in its talons:

I watched this adult eagle fishing at a lake. It would circle high overhead, then drop down with its talons extended.

It missed its target a few times, circled around, an eventually flew away.

Another adult eagle:

And, another one with an unusually dark face.

Another adult eagle, taking off for a flight on a clear bright day.

I have almost as many eagle photos as pelican photos, so get ready for more of both in future posts.

 

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.