As I walked around Tompkins Square one recent afternoon, I found four hawks together on one of the lawns: three fledglings and their dad, Charlie. I was taken by surprise as I didn't expect to see him on the ground.
He was eyeing a squirrel and it quickly became apparent he was demonstrating to his kids how to hunt.
He chased squirrels through the grass and pounced several times.
Charlie also stalked the flowerbeds, looking for rats and other prey.
There are plenty of squirrels in this area, though, and he chased after every one of them.
If you look closely, you can see one of the fledglings watching the action from the edge of the plants in the lower right of this photo.
Just as Charlie was about to nab the squirrel, the fledgling who had been watching swooped in and tried to grab it. Charlie flew up and out of the way as the squirrel escaped.
Then, to my delight, he headed straight for me.
This squirrel-hunting lesson went on for quite a while and was absolutely fascinating. I was reminded of a day back in 2020 when Christo showed his kids how to catch squirrels. The sequence is one of my favorite posts as it shows the dedication of the male hawk teaching his offspring.
Fast-forward a few days and I came upon two stealthy hunters lurking in a flowerbed.
Anyone casually walking by might not have noticed them.
Not finding any squirrels to chase, the two young hawks turned to each other for some play-fighting.
I haven't seen the fledglings catch any squirrels yet, but they've been catching rats and pigeons. This one, after having a late lunch of rat, rested in a tree...
...and took a nap.
Later, after the summer heat subsided, the hawk perked up and became active again.
More to come...
No comments:
Post a Comment