![Christo and Dora](https://farm3.staticflickr.com/2944/15220406978_e801cb7e53_b.jpg)
This was late in the day, around 6pm, but other people told me they saw the hawks sitting together in the same tree all afternoon.
This time last year, I saw the first of many migratory hawks come into the park, so I'm wondering if this pair might be guarding their territory against any uninvited travelers.
Here's a close-up of Dora. I think she has a pretty face - round eyes and feathers that make her look like she has eyelashes. Note her tail is looking full. She started molting in May/June and spent the summer looking really scraggly. She's looking great now in her new feathers,
![Dora](https://farm3.staticflickr.com/2947/15220337940_1dde273245_b.jpg)
And here's Christo. He started molting in August and seems to have replaced his feathers pretty quickly. It's not visible here, but he has three new tail feathers coming in.
![Christo](https://farm4.staticflickr.com/3930/15406995685_cf0ff07d5d_b.jpg)
Then, there's this mystery hawk...it could very well be Christo or Dora, but I can't tell. This was taken on September 9 and, at the time, I really didn't think it looked like either one of them. I saw it for three or four days in a row in the same place behind the bathrooms, and each time I could recognize it (or thought I could), and it really didn't look like our birds. But, who knows, both hawks looked scruffy while molting. It just seems unlikely that Christo and/or Dora would allow another adult hawk hanging out in their territory.
The squirrel, on the other hand, seems pretty welcoming!
![Adult red tail with squirrel](https://farm4.staticflickr.com/3930/15406984705_16ab86891f_b.jpg)
This bird ignored all the squirrels and focused exclusively on catching rats (squirrel fans rejoice!). Here is some video I took of it catching some dinner. Even after being so close for so long, I was still unable ot identify this individual bird.
See more hawk photos here.
Previous hawk posts.
best nature vid ever
ReplyDeleteHeh, it's not quite National Geographic...! I do like the ambulance going by and the squirrels gawking after the rat was caught. Maybe this season I can practice more video to catch the action.
ReplyDeleteAlso, after looking at this more, I suspect the hawk is Christo. In person, it was too hard to tell.
Awww.. nice to see them together again. I was starting to worry that there was some friction at home...
ReplyDelete