Every day with the Tompkins Square red-tailed hawk family is a gift, and I've really been enjoying observing the trio of fledglings this year.
Who can resist this face?
I believe this one (pictured above and below) is the youngest of the three fledglings. It's smaller than its two siblings and has heavier speckling on its belly band. I speculate it's a male, and the older two are female, but this is a guess based on size alone.
The fledglings are extremely curious and will investigate and play with just about anything. The one below landed in the dog run (not the first time) and picked up a clod of dog poo...gross!
After playing with the clump for a couple of minutes, the hawk leapt up to the fence.
People in the dog run reacted quickly and kept their dogs back.
Thankfully, the hawk did not perch on the fence long and took off to seek another adventure.
This block of wood became an interesting toy for a few minutes.
Hmm, what next?
The hawk picked up another piece of wood and tossed it around. They do this to practice catching prey.
One way to tell the difference between the adults and the juveniles is by their behavior. The kids are clumsy and can be seen displaying comical behavior like this one who tripped and fell over a log.
Now attack that log!
Playing with the piece of wood again:
Carrying the wood and landing on the log with it is practice for carrying prey up into the trees. I watched a fledgling last night struggle with a dead pigeon (provided by dad), on a tree branch. The fledgling had to figure out how to hang on to the food while balancing on the branch.
The fledglings have also been exploring buildings around the perimeter of the park. With each day that passes, their world expands a little more.
In previous seasons, we've seen the fledglings leave the area in late July or early August, so enjoy their antics in the park while we still have them.
More to come...
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