Monday, June 8, 2015

Avenue A hawk update

Avenue A hawk activity is picking up as we approach the big day when the lease is up on the Frigidaire air-conditioner and the hawklets take to the air.  All three are clearly visible from the street when they stand up and flap their wings.

I caught up with dad Christo the other evening in Tompkins Square. I was happy to see him back at his old habit of hunting for dinner in the area behind the park offices.  Is it me, or is he looking more distinguished this season?

Christo hunting for dinner

Within minutes, he expertly served up a healthy-looking rat.

Christo catches dinner

After chomping off the head and savoring the tastiest part for himself, he flew the body back to the kitchen table, otherwise known as the cross at Most Holy Redeemer church on E 3rd Street.

Christo and Dora have been using the cross as a spare apartment as the kids now take up so much room on the nest.

Christo and Dora atop Most Holy Redeemer

Two of the three hawklets check out the paparazzi.  I can't tell who hatched first, but in the photo below, the one in front looks older than the one in back.

2/3 Ave A hawklets

Flap time!

Stretching wings

Check out those nicely speckled pantaloons...

Stretching wings

Ugh, the annoyances of sharing a junior studio apartment.  No personal space!

No room to stretch

After the kids settle down, Christo delivers dinner.

Christo delivers dinner

Everybody watches mom fly by.  The little ones should be thinking, "Hey, I want to do that!"

Watching mom Dora take off

Later, the parents go back to chilling out on the church.  Christo is on top of the cross while Dora is at the base of the dome on the lower left.  They both have a direct view of the nest from up there.

Christo and Dora atop Most Holy Redeemer 

I'm a bit worried about the next couple of weeks as the baby hawks are so big and clumsy, and the nest is so small.  When they flap their wings, they stumble around and it's unnerving to see them doing that so close to the edge.  But, they are birds and this is what they do...

See more photos on my Flickr page.

Previously.

5 comments:

  1. I love these posts…thank you for the narrative! And why does Christo get to keep the rat head? Would the kids not like it????

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  2. Mmm....braaainnnz!

    Haha, in addition to being tasty, I imagine the head is the most dangerous (bitey) part. Gotta disarm the dinner.

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  3. OMG the expression on that rat's face is downright Mr. Bill. Red in tooth and claw. Never thought I'd say it, but poor rat!

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  4. They'd only kick it around the nest like a soccer ball and break all the fine China, the Louis XIV commode, etc.

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  5. I don't know if it's any comfort, but by the time the picture was taken, the rat was already gone. It was all over pretty quick, so I like to think there wasn't much suffering.


    There was a group of kids there, though, who were apparently witnessing the horror for the first time. They might be traumatized for life...lol.

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