Getting a few looks at Amelia and M2

It's been tough catching Amelia outside of her nest for any length of time, but she does take occasional breaks, and that's the best time to see her. 

She's a beautiful hawk, and I love to watch her fly.

Note how broad her chest is - she's significantly larger than M2.

Also note her dark head and mostly brown throat. M2 has a lighter head and a white throat.

This is M2 all fluffed up and showing his nictitating membranes.

When perched normally, you can see M2's light eyes, white throat, and white eyebrows. His eyes will darken with age, but for now, it's a good way to identify him.

Diving, as he does...

More diving! And take a look at that beautiful tail.

I'm still getting to know M2 and his ways. He has a lot of energy and is very active, covering large distances when he hunts. He's probably still getting to know his territory, memorizing where all the best rodents and pigeons can be found. So far, I've seen him mostly catching starlings and pigeons, which must please Amelia as she seems to prefer those over rats.

 

More to come.

Getting to know M2

The new male red-tailed hawk in Tompkins Square seems to be settling into his new digs and setting up his routine. As Amelia spends most of her time brooding, he brings her food and relieves her so she can take breaks to stretch. This is the best time to catch him in action.

This is M2 giving us a good view of his white "eyebrows" which are a good field mark when trying to distinguish him from Amelia. 

Like Christo before him, M2 has what looks to me like a "baby face" with light cheeks and a white throat.

And, wow, this guy is a diver. This hawk zips after prey like a falcon. So far, I've missed most of my shots because he's so fast, so he's forcing me to up my game, which is not a bad thing.

M2 has also been exploring perches where I never saw Christo or Amelia go. On this day, he flew up to a lower ledge on the Christodora.

Here he is leaping from the roof of St Brigid's church. I love the symmetry of his wings.

M2 caught a pigeon and took off to deliver it to Amelia for dinner.

M2 flying across the park:

Note his bright eyes. Amelia's eyes are dark brown.

This is M2 diving off a chimney on Avenue A.

Perching on the familiar cross of St Nicholas of Myra on Avenue A:

This is a perch where I usually see kestrels, so M2 seems to be checking out all the possible vantage points around the neighborhood.

He's a fascinating hawk, and I look forward to learning more about him in the coming weeks.

 

 

Settling in for hawk nesting season

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.