Bald Eagles tussle over a fish

In February, I visited a spot I like for viewing Bald Eagles and, sure enough, there were a couple of immature birds battling over a fish.

The two eagles chased each other around and displayed some incredible acrobatics in the air.

I'm not sure what type of fish the eagle has, but it appears to be yellow.

The second eagle tried to grab the fish, but the first eagle hung on tight.

Things got a little heated...

The second eagle kept diving at the first eagle.

Oh noes!

The eagles continued to go at it after the fish fell.

As they were distracted, a bunch of vultures moved in on the dropped fish. I was too far away to get good photos of the vultures, but I caught the eagles flying off, perhaps to do more fishing.

Last year, I had a close encounter with some immature Bald Eagles playing around in the same area. I had set out to find different birds, but the eagles stole the show and really made my day.

 

 

Brooding Time for Tompkins Square Hawks

It's egg-brooding time for our Tompkins Square Red-Tailed Hawks, Amelia and Charlie. This means Amelia will be spending the bulk of the next several weeks hunkered down in their nest. Charlie will hunt for food an provide meals for both of them. He will take over nest duty several times a day to give Amelia a break to eat and get some exercise.

Below is Amelia on the left and Charlie on the right. Note the difference in their size - Amelia is an impressively large hawk.

The hawks have been putting on some mating displays for the last couple of weeks and will continue to do so until the last egg is laid. Below are some mating highlights from the last week or so. 

 

Atop St Nicholas of Myra church on Avenue A: 

In a honey locust tree on the east side of the park:

This is a new spot...on top of what ever that thing is way up near the roof of the Christodora building on Avenue B. Penthouse residents may have had a good view of this encounter.

I was two seconds late for this, but caught the hawks just after mating on Most Holy Redeemer on E 3rd Street. This photo was taken from within Tompkins Square, five blocks away. Amelia is on the left and Charlie is on the right.

Amelia looking out from the nest:

The best bet for seeing hawk action during brooding time is watching Charlie hunt in the park and deliver food to Amelia. They seem to like taking their meals in the tree in the middle of the central lawn, so that's a good place to look for them.

 

Wintering Ospreys

When the cold set in here in NYC, I took some time to travel south and visit some Ospreys who are spending their winters in warmer environments.

This is a relaxed, recently-fed, and content Osprey. 

I watched this one take in the sun for a while, then embark on a fishing expedition.

But, someone else had taken the favorite fishing spot!

Excuse me!

The second Osprey refused to budge out of its spot, and the first one kept flying.

After the fist one passed by, the second Osprey decided to give chase.

Eventually, it flew up to a perch to dry off after being in the water.

Another Osprey in the same area flew around with what looks like a partial fish.

The Osprey flew the food behind a tree where it dropped it off with its mate who was working on a nest.

I had to leave for the day, but it was great seeing the Ospreys chase each other around in the air and in the water. Not a bad way to spend the winter...