I found one of the fledglings behind the park offices the other day as it took a dip in the lake formed by a clogged drain.
![Tompkins Square red-tail fledgling](https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/50087182646_cb751e2aba_c.jpg)
![Tompkins Square red-tail fledgling](https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/50087413682_60b2df358d_c.jpg)
![Tompkins Square red-tail fledgling cooling off](https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/50083539303_ffb653b76f_c.jpg)
![Looking in the mirror](https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/50083536318_1175a99096_c.jpg)
Although the hawks get most of the water they need from the food they eat, they do need to drink water on hot days like this.
![Taking a drink](https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/50084357192_0184fe735e_c.jpg)
Fledglings being kids, there are always pool toys to be had, like this dried leaf.
![Pool toy](https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/50086595828_c9fab1ac65_c.jpg)
The hawks are curious and will pick up almost anything. I was alarmed to see this hawk play with a piece of red rubber from a broken water balloon. Thankfully, it did not ingest it, but it shows how things we leave behind can easily harm wildlife.
![Tompkins Square red-tail fledgling](https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/50087415217_686eaa8860_c.jpg)
Soak time over, the hawk flew off to find something else to get into.
![Tompkins Square red-tail fledgling](https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/50084115736_126719a19e_c.jpg)
On July 6, a powerful thunderstorm swamped the city, so I went out to check on the hawks as soon as it was over. I found Amelia drying out on the cross of St Nicholas of Myra church on Avenue A and 10th Street.
![Amelia after a rain storm](https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/50098101196_75bc08de83_c.jpg)
She was having a bad hair day, but I bet she felt good.
![Amelia after a rain storm](https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/50097518803_5643ccf5fa_c.jpg)
One of the fledglings soon joined her and air-dried its wings from the top of the cross.
![Fledgling and AMelia](https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/50098326222_34073c57f2_c.jpg)
What are you looking at?
![Fledgling and Amelia](https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/50097518598_8db9b91ac6_c.jpg)
Speaking of looking disheveled, it's summer molt time for the adults, Amelia and Christo. Both hawks are looking a little ragged, but Christo always makes the most dramatic transformation.
![Christo](https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/50098120108_81f8734e65_c.jpg)
It will become more obvious in the next several days, but Christo's head has gone very pale and his neck has lost a lot of feathers, making him look skinny and bony. He's also missing at least two tail feathers and, the last I saw, Amelia was missing one as well. This is completely normal, and both hawks will look messy until their new feathers grow in later in the summer.
No comments:
Post a Comment