One is not like the other

How do we know if we're looking at Christo or Dora?  It's often hard to tell hawks from one another, but our Tompkins Square pair do look different.

Here, Dora is up in the nest while Christo takes off.  She has a darker head, generally darker browns, is slightly bigger and has more speckling on her chest.  He is a more golden brown, especially his head.



Dora:



Christo:



I also think her eyes look more round and her wings appear slightly broader.

But he's definitely the more vocal of the two.  Here, Christo soars and screams over Avenue A...



See more photos here.

And here.

Previous hawk posts.

Quick hawk update

I've not had home internet service for several days, so have been unable to upload any photos, but our Tompkins Square hawks are doing well.

They're still tending their eggs, switching on and off the nest throughout the day.  I've not seen too much excitement except for Sunday evening, when Christo was pursued across the park by two blue jay bullies who bit at his tail while he flew.  They chased him all the way from Avenue B to Avenue A where he took refuge atop the cross at St Nicholas of Myra on 10th Street.  If anyone is looking for a chance to see him, he's often up there at the end of the day, and there's a good chance of seeing the hawks switch places on the nest between 5:30-7pm.

In the mean time, here are two shots from the Nest Cam, courtesy of Francois Portmann,  You can see more photos and updates at his website: Fotoportmann.

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

More to come!

See more hawk photos at my Flickr page here and here.

Previous hawk posts.

Let it all be music

Music is a mirror
Near around my soul
Music is the spirit
Come on let it roll
Music is my nature
People have you heard
Music is my future
Music is the world

-- Boney M

Dora day

I haven't seen much of Dora in the last couple of weeks because she's been spending so much time sitting on the nest. When she does take a break, it's only for a short period of time, so I was happy to catch her on a couple of breaks in the park today.

As she took off from the nest, I saw a white feather in her eye...



...but not to worry, as it came out when she landed in a tree.



She spent some time stretching her legs...





And her wings.



The squirrels never stop pestering her.



Break time over, it's back to work sitting on and rolling her eggs.



***See the latest hawk next cam photos at Fotoportmann.***

See more hawk phots here and here.

Previous hawk posts.

After the storm

I was worried about Dora last night as the wind and rain raged, concerned she might be blown off the nest, but our hawks are rugged and fared just fine.

Just before sunset tonight, I caught up with Christo who was hunting for an evening meal.  His habit lately is to sit atop the flag pole outside the bathrooms in Tompkins Square, where he can see prey in the garden.  Tonight, he caught a sparrow.



I'm not sure if that was his primary target as he ran around under the bushes for several seconds before catching it.  He then carried it off...



...to the nest where he passed it off to Dora and he took over nest duties.



She took the sparrow to a nearby tree where she ripped off the head and ate it in two bites.



I had a photo of the bird's head, but it was too horrible ot post, so here are the feet...



Then Dora went exploring!  She spent some time flying around CHARAS on 9th Street...



And visited a neighbor's air conditioner at the Christodora.



After she'd stretched her wings, Dora returned to the nest and Christo took off to the park.



He landed in a tree directly above a film crew.  The actors kept shouting, "Drop your weapon!" and I wanted to follow and get a shot with the bird right above the scene, but the movie police were out in force and I couldn't access the entire south end of the park. 

Until next time...

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

Previous hawk posts.

Spring, sprang, sprung

Today in Tompkins Square.

Sunset stretch

I found Dora tonight in Tompkins Square just as the sun was going down.



She was taking a break from the nest to stretch her wings...



Her tail...



And feet.



As the shadows crept higher and higher up the trees, she followed the last bits of sunshine up to the highest branches until there was no more.  She then returned to the nest where Christo was minding the eggs.

With Dora tucked away, he flirted with the moon.



See more hawk photos here and here.

Previous hawk posts.

Three's company

The Tompkins Square hawks have 3 eggs!

The last one was laid on April 5, so we can expect to see some baby birds in the first couple of weeks of May.

Here, Christo adds some more material to the nest.



Photo courtesy of Francois Portmann.

Stay tuned...

Previous hawk posts.

Hawk egg #2

The Tompkins Square hawks have a second egg!


Photo courtesy of Francois Portmann.

It was laid between 3 and 4pm on Wednesday, April 2.  By now, there could be a third, but confirmation is still forthcoming.

Until then, here are some highlights from today.

Dora on the left, Christo on the right...



Dora takes off for a break while Christo guards the nest.







See more hawk photos here and here.

Previous hawk posts.

More signs of spring

Confirmation

It's official: the Tompkins Square hawks have an egg!


Photo credit: Francois Portmann

I'm not sure exactly when the egg was laid, but it could have been any time between Saturday, March 29 and Monday, March 31.  There could be one or two more eggs laid before the hawks take up sitting on the nest full time.

Previous hawk posts.