Dora in the city

I tagged along with Dora the hawk this morning as she ran a few errands downtown...







Lunch break!







See more photos here.

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Bigger by the day

May 29 will mark the 3-week birthday for the first Tompkins Square hawk hatchling.  You can now easily see the older two from the street, while the third is just starting to poke its head above the edge of the nest.  They're growing so fast, it seems they double in size every time I see them.

Here are two of the kids last Saturday while mom Dora was out getting some exercise.



Dad Christo stopped in briefly to drop off some lunch.



By Sunday, they were already stretching their wings and showing the first signs of pinfeathers.



As they grow, Dora can spend more time out of the nest.  I've worried about her over the last few weeks as we've had several storms.  She's been a dedicated mom, sheltering the chicks from rain, wind and hot sun.





By Wednesday, the chicks were jumping up and down and flapping their wings.





It won't be long now...



Check out the latest photos and video from the Nest Cam at Fotoportmann.

Our friend Francois and his TSP hawk video was also featured this week in the NY Post.

In other hawk news, don't miss the latest adventures of Rosie and Bobby of Washington Square.

And, Urban Hawks keeps tabs on all there is to know about hawks in NYC.

See more TSP hawk photos on my Flickr page here and here.

Previous hawk posts.

Christo in action

It was a busy afternoon for Christo the hawk in Tompkins Square.

He caught a squirrel as another looked on (peanut in mouth)...









The usual hawk-haters were out in force.



After being attacked by blue jays one too many times, he took off screaming across the park...

 

See more hawk photos on my Flickr page:

City hawks 2

City hawks 1

Previous hawk posts.

Meanwhile, in Soho...

Hawk highlights

Life is busy at the Christodora hawk nest.  This past Saturday, I caught my first glimpse of the chicks from the street below.

Hello!



Mom and baby:



The cross atop St Brigid's on Ave B & 8th Street seems to be a favorite spot for blue jays (and other birds) to harass the hawks.



Dora needs to wear a hard hat!



I never tire of seeing her leap off the cross.





Meanwhile, Christo hunts in the park, now with three little mouths to feed.  Look up and you just might see him flying by with the next meal...



See many more hawk photos on my Flickr page:

City Hawks 2

City Hawks 1

Previous hawk posts.

Dance fever

Along with the sorely-missed Art Parade, the Dance Parade is my favorite city event that exemplifies fun, creativity and talent.  Each year gets bigger and better, and the post-parade house party in Tompkins Square is a blast.

Some highlights:

















See more photos here.

See video of some awesome post-parade dancing in the park from 2012.

2013 Dance Parade.

Quality Christo time

What better way to spend a dreary day than with Christo the hawk as he hunts for lunch in Tompkins Square?

These are not great photos, but it was dark most of the day and most of the bird activity took place under the trees.

Christo started things off by catching a squirrel.





This one turned out to be...erm...my squirrel, as he flew it right over my head and dropped it.  I looked around in shock.  People sitting on nearby benches kept their noses buried in their phones and didn't see a thing.  I picked up the squirrel and added it to the collection of rodent bodies on the central lawn.

Meanwhile, as I was busy cleaning up his mess, Christo went and caught himself a second squirrel, which he ate in a tree.

His lunch was interrupted by this guy.



Note the claw marks along the squirrel's shoulder, as well as the extra pair of squirrel feet sticking out from behind the tree branch.

A post-lunch siesta was disturbed by a pesky robin.



And then a blue jay.  This one actually hurt Christo, stabbing at his head and causing him to fly off with an annoyed wimper.



He took the remains of his squirrel up to the nest...



...where Dora briefly got up from shielding the chicks from the heavy rain and wind.

 

'Til next time...

See more hawk photos on my Flickr page:

City hawks 2

City hawks 1

Previous hawk posts.

Hawk nest update

A week after the first two baby hawks hatched on the Christodora, our friend François has sent an update from the Nest Cam.

All three babies are looking good and parents Christo and Dora have been feeding them regularly.



Christo stands by as Dora flies in...



Dora feeds the babies as the sun sets...

It must get pretty hot up there in the direct sun.  Here, Dora acts as an umbrella, providing shade for the babies.

Christo has been hard at work bringing in fresh food throughout the day.  Although Dora does most of the feeding, both parents have been taking part.

As the dead things pile up in the nest, the adults take the carcasses away to keep everything clean.  I've been seeing them drop the bodies on the lawn in the middle of the park regularly.  They've also been returning to that area later in the day to scavenge the half-eaten left-overs, so there's little waste.

 This flattering shot of Dora reveals that, at the end of the day, it's a tough job raising three fuzzy little raptors!

All photos courtesy of François Portmann.  See more hawk nest photos and get updates at his website.


Previous hawk posts.

Coming and going

I caught the last chick-feeding at the Tompkins Square hawk nest before sunset tonight.

Christo brings home the bacon...a plump rat.



Making some room, Dora clears out a half-eaten furry carcass.





On closer inspection, it looks to be the remains of a squirrel.



In the air, she transfers it from her beak to her talons.

 

Over the last three days, I've seen the hawks taking rodent remains out of the nest and dumping them in the middle of the park.  People out for a casual stroll might want to carry an umbrella...

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

Previous hawk posts.