Meet the neighbors

Nest-building activity continues for the Tompkins Square hawks.  I had fun today watching them go about their business of collecting sticks, killing things, and frolicking with each other.

I have yet to catch both of them at the nest site at the same time.  So far, they've been taking turns.



That said, the pair are spending a lot of time close to each other.  Here they are atop St Brigids.



And in a favorite tree, cutting twigs.



Success!



As for identifying the two, I can't quite tell them apart yet.  I'm guessing this is the male:



It is a fairly light colored bird, a bit slender, and stands above the other when they're perched together.  This one has also been very busy gathering sticks.

This is the one I'm guessing is the female:



It's a bit bigger than the other bird and has darker coloring, especially on the shoulder area of the wings.  Here is the same bird eating a pigeon, which was caught and left in a tree by the other bird:



Again, I'm totally guessing at the genders and could be wrong.

Stay tuned!

See more hawk photos on my Flickr page:
City hawks 1
City hawks 2

Previous hawk posts.