Tompkins Square red-tailed hawks, Christo and Amelia, have been busy working on their nest and preparing for the spring breeding season.
Below, Christo is seen tearing a piece of bark from a tree. This is usually one of the last stages of preparing the nest. Judging by the torn-up condition of the tree trunk, this looks to be one of his favorite sources for bark.
The hawk pair has also been mating. Below, Christo is seen hopping aboard Amelia.
The pair were caught in action the other night just after sunset. In the video below, Amelia cleans her beak after eating a rat dinner, then Christo makes his move.
Afterwards, Christo unsuccessfully tries to break a branch off the tree.
After failing to impress Amelia with breaking a branch, Christo went and caught her another rat. In the video below, he has just given her the rat - her second dinner in less than 20 minutes.
After gulping down the last of the rat, Amelia moves higher in the tree and Christo flies off to go to roost for the night. Amelia went her separate way a few minutes later.
This is a photo of Christo in his favorite redwood tree. He likes to collect its seed pods for nest decoration (and possibly insect repellent).
The rusty color of the redwood coordinates beautifully with Christo's plumage.
It won't be long until birds around the city settle into their nests. We always recommend tuning into Cornell's Live Hawk Cam to observe red-tails, Big Red and Arthur, as they reveal what takes place in a hawk nest in Ithaca, New York.
Another good cam to watch this season is Landings Bird Cam which features a pair of Great Horned Owls and their recently hatched chick in Savannah, Georgia.
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