Sunday, February 17, 2013

Hawk vs pigeon

We're back in Tompkins Square Park, where the featured entree of the day is Pigeon.

And our star diner of the day is Hawk...

Tompkins Square Park 

The hawk had spent the previous 2-3 hours studying a flock of pigeons on the ground before finally selecting one and going for it.  After catching the pigeon, the hawk showed it off to a small crowd of admirers that had gathered to watch.



Then, this happened.

Tompkins Square Park 

The hawk was scared off the bench and was forced to abandon the pigeon.  If it hadn't had the pigeon in its talons already, I'm sure it would have gouged this guy's eyes out.

Having lost that meal, the hawk made several attempts to catch another pigeon.  Here, it struggles with one it tried to snatch out of a tree, but the feisty pigeon puts up a good fight...

The one that got away 

...and escapes! 

The one that got away 

So, it's back to the original meal, which is still lying on the ground where it was dropped 2-3 hours before. 



See many more hawk photos here.

Previously.
Posted by at

8 comments:

  1. Michael NataleFebruary 17, 2013 at 3:18 PM

    Wow, Hawkeye, these are great. Why didn't the hawk come back for the original pigeon after he/she was chased away. Or did that character steal it?

    ReplyDelete
  2. GogglaFebruary 17, 2013 at 7:47 PM

    I'm not sure why the hawk didn't eat the pigeon right away. It did sit up in a tree and cry for a while.

    ReplyDelete
  3. marty wombacherFebruary 18, 2013 at 12:28 PM

    I love this hawk series! That top photo is spectacular! I look forward to more!

    ReplyDelete
  4. Roger_PawFebruary 19, 2013 at 3:24 PM

    Fabulous photos and report! You've been bitten by the Hawk bug. It happened to me. I blog all about Hawks (and visit them just about any chance I get). It's a life-changing and wonderful obsession! :)


    Hawks typically stash food for leftovers for times when prey is hard to come by (which is probably why this Hawk didn't eat right away). Our city Hawks like to store kills on branches, air conditioners, building tops, etc.

    ReplyDelete
  5. GogglaFebruary 19, 2013 at 4:37 PM

    Thanks, Marty! I'm sure there will be more...there's action every time I visit the park.

    ReplyDelete
  6. GogglaFebruary 19, 2013 at 4:40 PM

    Thanks Roger_Paw. I've been a bit obsessive lately - was in the park at 6am Sunday morning (before the sun came up) just to see if the hawks were hunting, and they were.

    ReplyDelete
  7. Hekky CatzFebruary 19, 2013 at 5:44 PM

    there was no other bench for the jerk to sit on?

    ReplyDelete
  8. GogglaFebruary 19, 2013 at 5:49 PM

    I think those birds remember people. He'd better watch his back. ;)

    ReplyDelete

Subscribe to: Post Comments (Atom)