Pre-holiday meal with Tompkins Square red-tails Christo and Amelia

Late Sunday afternoon, I found red-tailed hawk Amelia munching on the remains of a pigeon in Tompkins Square Park.



All that was left was the drumstick.



Foot in mouth!



A post-meal beak-cleaning:



After such a big meal, Amelia showed off her huge bulging crop. She then spent the next hour resting and digesting.



Meanwhile, Christo took up a pose on his golden throne, the top of the flag pole in front of the park offices.



Something caught his eye...



I followed him to a tree near the Temperance Fountain, where he was taking in the last of the late afternoon sun.



A squirrel approached, but Christo wasn't interested.



Instead, Christo chose to dive after something else.



Something right in front of me.



My camera lost focus after this. He landed on a rat that had been frolicking in the grass a couple of feet in front of me.



There it goes...



Christo obligingly paused for a brief pre-dinner photo op.





The procedure is to pop off the head and eat that first.



As Christo enjoyed his dinner, an immature Cooper's hawk snuck into the tree across the way and watched as Christo ate.



No time for chasing Cooper's hawks today! Christo quickly downed the rat and took one last look around before the sun disappeared behind the buildings.



And then he went off to roost under a fire escape. In winter months, he usually does this, keeping close to the warm brick buildings.



After Christo was put to bed, I returned to check on Amelia. She did not stay in the park, but disappeared over the buildings west of Avenue A where I was unable to relocate her. I've only caught her going to roost once - she's much more secretive than Christo, who sticks close to the park at night.

Red-tails Christo and Amelia share Saturday brunch on First Avenue

After being out of town for several days, I eagerly set out on Saturday to find our local red-tailed hawks, Christo and Amelia. I didn't have to look far as I found Amelia perched on a building on First Avenue and 2nd Street.



I must have just missed her catching this pigeon.



After perching for several minutes, Amelia readjusted her catch and began plucking it. As she did this, other pigeons kept trying to land on the ledge beside her. They seemed not to notice her until they were inches away, then would quickly turn and dive over the side of the wall. Over the next 45 minutes, as Amelia enjoyed her brunch, the pigeons repeatedly tried to land next to her, only to make the same mistake over and over. They really wanted to perch on that ledge!



From my vantage point on the street corner, I could see Christo flying up and down Avenue A. I wasn't sure what he was up to until he flew over to First Avenue, landed on a building across the street from Amelia, and let out a piercing scream.



Circling over Amelia was an immature red-tailed hawk, an intruder in the territory.



Amelia seemed not to care about the other hawk, but continued eating and eventually flew off towards Second Avenue. Christo kept screaming and chased after the younger hawk before landing in the same spot where Amelia had been.



He picked up the brunch leftovers, which looked to be just a drumstick.



Christo took the pigeon leg over the buildings across the street, so I decided to head over to Tompkins Square Park.



When I arrived at the park, I saw Amelia and Christo had beat me there and were already perched on top of the Christodora on Avenue B. I wondered if they could be watching the intruder who was probably still around.



I never got to find out, as Amelia suddenly took off and flew towards the East River. A couple of seconds later, Christo followed her.



Meanwhile, in the park, the two old hawk nests are clearly visible now that the leaves have disappeared from the trees. Below is the most recently used nest in a ginkgo tree on the east side of the park.

And this is what's left of the 2017 nest in a locust near the Temperance Fountain. This nest was home to the single hawklet, Ten, who was also Dora's last offspring.

We'll have to wait until some time around January or February to see what nesting plans Christo and Amelia make this season.

Sunrise and sunset with red-tails, Christo and Amelia, and a Cooper's hawk

Good morning!

As dawn broke on a recent cold morning, I found myself in Tompkins Square Park where red-tailed Christo was still groggily perched in his night roosting spot. He was all fluffed up and seemed surprised to see me.



What are YOU doing here so early?



As the sun streamed down E 9th Street, Christo soaked it in from a tree on the east side of the park.



Meanwhile, Amelia caught the early rays from the highest branch in the park. I don't know where she roosts at night, but no matter how early I get to the park in the morning, she's already there.



A short while later, Christo and Amelia perched together on the cross of St Nicholas of Myra on Avenue A and watched the pigeons make their morning commute into the park.





Someone else in the neighborhood has been out and about early in the mornings. This beautiful adult Cooper's hawk has been spotted several times in recent weeks between Tompkins Square and the Bowery.



As I was walking along E 6th Street last Friday morning, the Cooper's swooped down in front of me and tried unsuccessfully to catch a breakfast pigeon.



The hawk regrouped on a fire escape long enough for me to take some video:



As East Village hawks can be found at sunrise, they can also be found at sunset. This is usually the easiest time to spot them as they either make one last hunting trip for dinner in the park, or they finish off the day watching the sun go down from one of their favorite perches. Three of their most popular lookout spots are church crosses: St Nicholas of Myra on Avenue A & E 10th Street, St Brigid's on Avenue B & E 8th Street, and Most Holy Redeemer on E 3rd Street and Avenue A. You have a good chance of spotting one or both hawks on the crosses as evening falls.



I've been trying to capture the hawks posing in the fall foliage before all the colorful leaves disappear. Christo cooperated for the camera on an otherwise dreary afternoon.



It's the time of year when we start seeing more hawks in the city and there have been several red-tails visiting the Lower East Side. This adult took a break from chasing pigeons by perching on an air-conditioner last weekend near Grand Street.



And this immature red-tail returned my gaze as I watched it soar over East River Park. It always thrills me to look up and see a hawk staring right back at me from a mile away. They see everything.

Autumn red-tail colors

It's my favorite time of year when the trees put on their dazzling display of vivid color, saturating the streets with stunning kaleidoscopic hues.

The blazing yellow honey locust trees on this stretch of E 6th Street just east of First Avenue make me happy every time I walk by.



Up in Central Park, this solitary orange tree looks like a flame among a grove of trees that is still firmly bent on staying green.



I also like this time of year because the autumn colors complement the new plumage of our red-tailed hawks. Christo and Amelia have finished their summer molts, and they are now sporting beautiful brand-new feathers, as seen below on Christo. For comparison, see a scraggly molting Christo here and here.



The late afternoon sun shining through the fall leaves brings out the warm tones in his brown feathers. The hawks easily blend in with the foliage, something they won't be able to do much longer as winter approaches.



When I met up with Christo in Tompkins Square last weekend, he was hunting in one of the gardens. Eventually, he caught a rat and flew it right over my head and into a tree.



As Christo quickly ate his meal, another red-tail appeared out of nowhere and flew right past his face. Was this a challenge? Christo quickly took off after it and, as I ran to an area where I could see the sky, I caught sight of Amelia, who was racing across the park to help drive out the intruder.



The three hawks chased each other around so fast, I couldn't keep up. The interloper ended up flying off towards East River Park, while Christo and Amelia regrouped on the church cross at Avenue A and 10th Street.



I like how Christo studies Amelia as she comes in for a landing.





The pair perched on the cross for a while, but Amelia kept taking off to patrol the area.



When Amelia didn't return from one of her tours, Christo took off and returned to the park.



Taking advantage of the last bit of sunlight, he caught one last rat before sunset.



As the season progresses, we'll likely see more hawks in the neighborhood who are either migrating or looking for a place to spend the winter. In addition to red-tails, I've been seeing Cooper's hawks, who often come around this time of year.

On the last day of the season on Governors Island (October 31), I spent some quality time with a pair of young adult red-tails who demonstrated some excellent hawk hunting skills. I'll have more on these two in an upcoming post.