Neighborhood hawks

Before the snowstorm rolled in last Sunday, I made the rounds to check on our local hawks. It's the time of year when the Tompkins Square Red-Tails are sprucing up their nest and defending their territory against other hawks.

I found Charlie in the park hunting for snacks. When he arrived a year ago, he seemed to focus solely on catching birds, but he's been spending the winter clearing the park of rats. 

Nearby, Amelia kept watch.

Both hawks can often be found perched on Most Holy Redeemer church on E 3rd Street. It offers them a great vantage point where they can look over their territory and the city. I'd love to know what the view is like from up there.

Charlie is on the left while Amelia is on the right.

I took the photos above from the street, and the ones below from a rooftop a few blocks away.

This is Amelia:

From my far-away vantage point, I later found Amelia perched on the cross of St Nicholas of Myra church on Avenue A and 10th Street. If you squint, you can see her in this photo.

This one is a little closer, but I was almost a mile away.

Back in the park, Charlie caught a rat and flew it high into a tree to eat.

A short while later, he flew off, his bulging crop visible.

Bonus: in addition to the Red-Tails, I found a couple of other hawks in the area.

 

This is an immature Red-Tail who was scoping the neighborhood and drawing the ire of Amelia, who chased it around.

And this is an adult Cooper's Hawk seen soaring around the Con Ed plant, and eventually chased off by a Kestrel.

Another Cooper's Hawk:

Winter is a good time to see raptors in the city as they migrate. Keep and eye on the sky for Bald Eagles as well.

 

 

Today's snowstorm

I took a walk around the neighborhood earlier today as the snow really started coming down. It was fun for a while until the wind picked up and I decided to spend the rest of the afternoon holed up in my apartment.

Looking down Avenue A from 7th Street: 

Joggers headed up Avenue A:

Looking up Avenue A from 9th Street:

Ray's Candy on Avenue A:

Another view north on Avenue A and 7th Street:

Here are a couple of videos of snow plow action on Avenue A:

Meanwhile, there were quite a few people enjoying the snow in Tompkins Square Park.

Back to Avenue A and St Mark's Place:

Looking across Avenue A at Doc Holiday's:

Looking southwest on 1st Avenue at 6th Street:

For me, the most dramatic storm was the blizzard of December 27, 2010 when then-mayor Mike Bloomberg took off for Bermuda, failed to declare a state of emergency (to bring out the snow plows), and told all of us to stop whining and "Go see a play!" That night, several MTA buses became stranded in the snow on Avenue A, and the following day was spent digging them out. Below are a couple of videos showing those efforts.

What I remember about that 2010 storm is the feeling of being left to fend for ourselves and neighbors helping neighbors. Good Samaritans brought hot coffee to the bus drivers who had to stay with their buses until they were towed. 

 

"I am always comforted by realizing that there are still so many helpers - so many caring people in this world."   

--Fred Rogers 

 

 

An afternoon with the Tompkins Square hawks

Friday afternoon, I was happy to find both Tompkins Square Red-Tailed Hawks around the park. 

This is Amelia on the cross of St Brigid's Church on Avenue B.

A short while later, she moved a block north to the roof of the Christodora building.

She was soon joined by Charlie who flew in from the left.

After checking in with Amelia, Charlie moved to the ladder on the south side of the building.

Something caught his attention and he flew over to the chimney on the north side of the building.

Eventually, Charlie came down into the park and started making his rounds.

Here, he perches in the Krishna Tree.

As I watched him, he suddenly took off after a rat.

My photos of him carrying his catch back to another tree aren't so great, so we'll just skip to when he held the rat in his talons on a branch.

The rat was a decent size, but Charlie chomped it down in just 4-5 bites. 

Was that just an appetizer? He wasted no time taking off again.

I followed him around as it looked like he might make another catch, but he seemed to be comfortable and taking his time.

In this photo, you can see his bright "eyebrow" which helps identify him. Amelia does not have this field mark. His eyes are also light and bright,

Just as the sun went down, both hawks flew out of the park, which was my sign to leave for the evening. All seems to be well in hawk world.

Bird highlights to start the new year

I still have a ton of bird photos from the last few months that I haven't been able to share. Below are a few to start the new year. 

Great Egret: 

Black Vulture:

Turkey Vulture:

Great Horned Owl:

Horned Lark:

Common Loon:

Great Cormorant:

Green Heron:

Great Blue Heron:

Yellowlegs:

Red-Winged Blackbird:

Snowy Egret:

Northern Cardinal:

Brown Pelican: