Getting to know M2

The new male red-tailed hawk in Tompkins Square seems to be settling into his new digs and setting up his routine. As Amelia spends most of her time brooding, he brings her food and relieves her so she can take breaks to stretch. This is the best time to catch him in action.

This is M2 giving us a good view of his white "eyebrows" which are a good field mark when trying to distinguish him from Amelia. 

Like Christo before him, M2 has what looks to me like a "baby face" with light cheeks and a white throat.

And, wow, this guy is a diver. This hawk zips after prey like a falcon. So far, I've missed most of my shots because he's so fast, so he's forcing me to up my game, which is not a bad thing.

M2 has also been exploring perches where I never saw Christo or Amelia go. On this day, he flew up to a lower ledge on the Christodora.

Here he is leaping from the roof of St Brigid's church. I love the symmetry of his wings.

M2 caught a pigeon and took off to deliver it to Amelia for dinner.

M2 flying across the park:

Note his bright eyes. Amelia's eyes are dark brown.

This is M2 diving off a chimney on Avenue A.

Perching on the familiar cross of St Nicholas of Myra on Avenue A:

This is a perch where I usually see kestrels, so M2 seems to be checking out all the possible vantage points around the neighborhood.

He's a fascinating hawk, and I look forward to learning more about him in the coming weeks.

 

 

Settling in for hawk nesting season

It's officially nesting season for our local red-tailed hawks as they are now brooding eggs. Things should be quiet over the next few weeks, but we should still be able to see the new male hawk (M2) hunting and delivering food to Amelia.

I can't let the season commence without some mating photos as there's only a small window of time each year to witness it, so here you go...

M2 approaches Amelia:

It only takes a few seconds...

Afterwards, M2 brought Amelia a gift of a headless rat (in his talons). 

M2 holds it up to give her a better view.

Unfortunately, they dropped the rat during the hand-off. You can see it falling in the photo below.

I waited to see if either of them would drop down to retrieve the food, but neither of them did while I was there. They may have scavenged it later.

Winter has enabled us to see the new nest fairly well, but as soon as this tree blooms, I have doubts that we'll be able to see anything at all. Below, Amelia checks out the view from the nest.

This tree should provide some nice shade for the hawks as the weather warms, so I'm happy for that.

Amelia on her porch:

In the mean time, we can enjoy watching M2 practice his hunting skills. In the photo below, he is holding a starling he nabbed from a tree a few seconds prior. 

In this photo, he prepares to deliver another starling. For a while, there were flocks of starlings in the park and he seemed to like catching them over pigeons.

M2 looking for prey opportunities:

This photo shows his prominent white "eyebrows" which are one way to identify him from Amelia.

His head overall is very light, as well as his throat.

While flying, M2 looks very much like Christo, except for his bright yellow eyes (Christo's were brown).

Note: it is not possible to see into the nest, or to know how many eggs there are, but there are usually three. We will just have to wait and be surprised...stay tuned.

 

 

Introducing the new guy

It's been about a month since the new male red-tailed hawk moved in to Tompkins Square Park, and he is settling in quite well. Christo set a high bar for this new young hawk, but he is proving to be up to the job.

This was the photo I took on February 24 that showed me the male hawk hanging around with Amelia was not Christo.

This hawk has bright yellowish eyes, indicating he is young, and prominent white "eyebrows". But the identifier that confirmed this hawk was not Christo is the legs. Christo had brown markings on his legs and this hawk has none (see above, left). 

 

You can see the light eyebrows in the photo below. The male is on the left.

As they perch side-by-side, you can see the differences between Amelia (left) and the new guy (right). She is much broader across the chest, and has a darker head and eyes. The male also has more white on his throat.

Mating:

In many ways, this male is very similar to Christo, which is why many of us did not notice the difference right away. This young male actively worked on their nest, mated with Amelia, brought her food, and seemed to be going through all the same procedures Christo followed.

The biggest difference with this new male that I can see is his hunting style. He's very young (possibly only 2 years old) and he has the young energy that Christo displayed when he first arrived in Tompkins. This male loves to dive and he's been catching birds right out of the air.

He is the Greg Lougainis of hawks!

Diving down the side of the Christodora:

This hawk started out catching starlings out of trees. Last week, I saw him dive into the middle of the lawn like a Peregrine and catch a pigeon 20 feet in the air. He was so fast, I only saw an explosion of feathers.

 

The only other red-tail I've seen grab a bird out of the air was Dora back in 2017.

 

Here he is breaking sticks for the nest:

As for a name, I don't know yet. I've been calling him "M2" (2nd male) for now until he tells us his name. Christo and Dora were named after the building where they were first seen, and Amelia was named after Amelia Earhart because she visibly loves to fly (watch her on a windy day and you will see a happy hawk). If you have any suggestions, please let me know.

M2 is a handsome hawk and I have hopes that he will be successful here. His hunting methods are startling and impressive

 

Amelia (left) and M2 (right) perch on the roof of the Christodora.

This photo was taken from inside Tompkins and shows Amelia (left) and M2 (right) perched on the cross of Most Holy Trinity on E 3rd Street at sunset. At this distance, you can really see the size difference between the two. Amelia is (IMO) a large hawk, and this male is on the small side, possibly a bit smaller than Christo.

Amelia is brooding eggs now, so she will be spending the next several weeks mostly hidden in the nest. During this time, the male will be responsible for feeding both of them, so we will have the opportunity to discover more about him as he hunts in and around the park.

 

More to come...