Catching up with the Tompkins Square Park red-tailed hawk fledglings this week, I found them snacking on pigeons and rats that they caught themselves.
I came upon this one just after it caught a rat within the park and dropped it onto one of the pathways. When I arrived, the hawk was looking down at the rat and seemed to be considering how to retrieve it.
To help out, I picked up the rat and tossed it into a fenced-in area while the hawk watched, so it knew where its meal went. After a few minutes, the hawk came down, picked up the rat, and flew it to a tree to eat.
Down the hatch!
This particular fledgling still has a yellowish chest and looks pretty in the late afternoon sun.
A few blocks south of the park, I followed the loud squawks of a blue jay, which led me to the other fledgling hanging out in a basketball court.
A closer look revealed it was eating a pigeon.
An unflattering shot of the hawk gulping down a leg:
Meal over, the hawk flew up to the top of a fence where it perched and rested until sunset.
Although the fledglings are capable of catching their own prey, dad Charlie is still on hand to provide for them when they need it. Below, he calls out to his kids to announce he has a pigeon for them.
When no one answered, Charlie took the pigeon to another tree and ate it himself.
Later, Charlie flew around with a pigeon leg in case any of the fledglings were interested.
When there is food left over, but no one is hungry at that particular moment, Charlie will stash the food in the trees and either return to it later himself, or the fledglings will find and eat it. Either way, nothing goes to waste.
More to come...
No comments:
Post a Comment