July is almost over, and the Tompkins Square Red-Tailed Hawk fledglings are spending more time outside the park, which makes them more difficult to find.
At least one of them, however, is still making regular appearances in the park.
This particular individual was actively chasing after squirrels near Avenue A on a recent afternoon.
I like how the young hawks can so easily blend into the streetscape.
I was watching the hawk from across the lawn when it flew and landed right in front of me. I couldn't believe it and had to back up as it was so close.
On its way to torment some squirrels...
The three squirrels on this tree scattered when they saw the raptor approaching.
Failing to catch a squirrel, the hawk grabbed a piece of wood and took off with that instead.
Looking for its next target...
One of the other three siblings:
This fledgling caught a pigeon and found a private space in a garden to eat it.
Meanwhile, this fledgling tried its luck with rodents along 10th Street.
And this fledgling gets a face full of feathers as it plucks a pigeon on the ground.
Each year, our time with the hawks seems so short. They hatched in late April and only came out of the nest the second week of June. In general, they embark on their migrations in August, but we've had some in the past stay through September. You can see information about previous hawk seasons on my Tompkins Square Hawk Archives page.
No comments:
Post a Comment