Christmas day in Tompkins Square

I had an unexpected Christmas present this year, courtesy of the Tompkins Square Park hawk and three of her friends.  The four of them put on a spectacular show, battling in the treetops over territory.  The resident queen chased the younger visitors across the park, down Avenue B and back again before taking a rest in a tree on Avenue A.

Here is one of the youngsters:





I returned the following day and another hawk was putting on a show.  I'm not sure if it's one of the younger ones form the day before, but he (I think) was flying quite low and getting a good look at everyone on the ground.  Seemingly oblivious to danger, a fat rat and an even fatter squirrel frolicked in the leaves below, eating loaves of bread someone had tossed over the fence.  Squirrels continued to taunt the hawk, chasing it from tree to tree until I lost it.



All the action drew quite a crowd, including Mosaic Man and Bobby Williams, who always catches the best shots. 



Thanks to Bobby and friends for keeping track of all the birds and pointing them out when I couldn't see.  What a fun afternoon!

See more hawk photos here.