Where did the summer go? We're already a week into October and I'm still waiting for September to start, lol. Anyway, it's a good time to round out the hawk season with the last photos I have of the Tompkins Square red-tail fledglings.
This is Fledgling #3 on August 30, the day after she was released back into the park after being rehabbed at WINORR for an undetermined injury:
The hawk was seen by observers over the next couple of days, but we were unable to track her movements until September 19, when she was found on E 2nd Street and was taken back into rehab. To date, she is still with WINORR.
This is one of the other fledglings:
And this is a young hawk seen in Tompkins who is not the offspring of residents Christo and Amelia. As fledglings from all over begin their journeys of exploration, it's not uncommon for some to pass through this area. At the time, Christo was acting territorial and chasing this hawk out of the park, which was a clue that it was not one of his kids.
The physical characteristics of this hawk are also very different from any of the three fledglings. Most notably, this hawk has a distinct facial pattern and light "eyebrow" that none of the other fledglings have. It is also very slender whereas the two older Tompkins fledglings were pretty large with broad chests. When this hawk was spotted, Fledgling #3 had already been taken out of the park.
This hawk was actively hunting, but didn't pay any mind to the squirrel who kept aproaching it on the branch.
With so much attention paid to the fledglings all summer, I kind of neglected posting photos of parents, Amelia and Christo. This is Amelia looking pretty in a tree:
This is Amelia staring down from the roof of St Brigid's church on Avenue B.
This is Christo on the cross of St Brigid's:
And, this is Christo sailing off the top of St Brigid's to go take care of hawk business.
Meanwhile, another hawk in another part of the city takes in the sunset.
The 2023 season saw 37 known red-tailed hawk nests in NYC. Let's make the 2024 season even more successful by providing a safe and healthy environment for our amazing urban wildlife.
