Blink and you might miss the fledgling red-tailed hawk zipping over your head in Tompkins Square Park.
The fledglings are now two and a half months old and are quickly learning aerial tricks. This trio has impressed me with their expert flying skills, no doubt passed on by Mom Amelia and Dad Christo. Amelia was named after famed pilot, Amelia Earhart, after all.
Flying and navigating the trees seems to be the first skill the young hawks have to master. Second is learning to hunt and capture prey. To do that, they practice with sticks, branches, leaves, and what ever else they can find.
This video shows one of the fledglings practicing with a tree branch on the ground while one of its siblings makes a couple of flybys.
As the hawks were born within the park, they are accustomed to human noise and activity. This video shows one of them calmly perched on a fence with a basketball game going on behind it. The players were aware of the hawk, and neither human nor bird were disturbed by the other.
The scaffolding currently surrounding the park field house provides a nice perch for the birds.
There is still fun to be found in the flower gardens.
I like seeing how the hawks make everyone happy. We need more of this.
The squirrels are still faster and more agile than the hawks, taunting them every chance they get.
This poor cherry tree was damaged and looks to be dead, but its broken trunk has provided an ideal hawk perch for photos.
This fledgling is carrying some old food in its talons.
Two of the three fledglings have a discussion about what to do next.
One of them picked up a heavy rat left by Dad and struggled to drag it up into the tree. Taking their food up into the trees and eating it safely away from the ground is another skill the birds must learn. It's not as easy as it looks.
It's really wonderful to see all three doing so well.
More to come...
No comments:
Post a Comment