Friday, July 19, 2024

Tompkins Square hawk fledglings get better at catching prey

The three young red-tailed hawks of Tompkins Square are quickly improving their hunting skills and are growing less reliant on mom and dad to provide them with food. They are also spending more time venturing outside the park.

Early on a recent sultry morning, I found one of them perched atop the cross of St Brigid's church on Avenue B.

Red-tail fledgling atop St Brigid's church.

It was quickly joined by one of its playful siblings who attempted to take over the perch.

Red-tail fledglings tussling at St Brigid's church.

The hawks have been playing games of "tag" where they chase each other around the park and nip or pounce on each other. On this morning, all three put on quite a show inside the park, but were so fast, I couldn't get more than one in a photo. This was kind of frustrating, but I just had to stand back and enjoy the spectacle.

These games are all practice for catching prey. However, the hawks don't just catch and kill everything they find. Below, one of the fledglings finds a carpenter bee crawling around on the pavement (the bee is in front of the hawk's leg, to the right).

Fledgling hawk investigates a caprenter bee in Tompkins Square.

The hawk watched the bee for a few minutes.

Fledgling hawk investigates a caprenter bee in Tompkins Square.

Getting a closer look:

Fledgling hawk investigates a caprenter bee in Tompkins Square.

The hawk even put its talons over the bee, but didn't hurt it.

Fledgling hawk investigates a caprenter bee in Tompkins Square.

What kind of creature are you?

Fledgling hawk investigates a caprenter bee in Tompkins Square.

In the end, the hawk got distracted by something else and left the bee alone.

Meanwhile, one of the other fledglings (below, right) caught a rat under a bush. The second fledgling then swooped in to see if it could mooch off its sibling.

Two of the Tompkins Square hawk fledglings hunt for breakfast in the bushes.

The first hawk would not share its breakfast, so the second hawk chased a rat around in the shrubbery before flying off to try its luck somewhere else.

With the competition gone, the first fledgling took the remnants of breakfast up to the fence railing.

Fledgling hawk brings its breakfast up to the rail.

Fledgling hawk with the remains of a rat.

Fledgling hawk with the remains of a rat.

After eating, it scanned the area around a garbage can.

Fledgling hawk in Tompkins Square.

Fledgling hawk in Tompkins Square.

All the young hawks love chasing squirrels, and the squirrels seem to love taunting the young predators. As far as I know, none of the fledglings have been able to catch one yet.

Fledgling hawk and a squirrel in Tompkins Square.

However, the hawks have been successful catching pigeons. Below, one of the hawks nabbed one right in the middle of a walkway.

Fledgling hawk catches a pigeon.

The other pigeons look on, but inexplicably don't fly away.

Fledgling hawk catches a pigeon.

The hawk was able to fly its prey to a nearby tree and eat it safely on a high branch.

One of the other fledglings dove into a bush in the SE quadrant of the park and pulled up a house sparrow. It's hard to see in the photo, but the sparrow is in the hawk's right talon.

Fledgling hawk catches a house sparrow.

Fledgling hawk with a house sparrow in its talons.

This hawk was also able to take the sparrow to a nearby tree to eat. They have had to learn to take their food to a high place to stay out of danger from people, dogs, bikes, and vehicles.

Fledgling hawk in Tompkins Square.

Across the street from St Brigid's is a decorative rooftop fence that the hawks seem to enjoy perching on at sunset before going off to roost for the night.

Bedtime for Tompkins Square red-tail fledgling.

If you're around the park looking for the hawks, it's worth checking the church crosses and surrounding rooftops. They naturally prefer high viewpoints, and are gradually moving their way up to higher and higher perches each day.

More to come...

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