Tompkins Square hawks make their own cooling center

As the city continues to experience an extended heat wave, the Tompkins Square red-tailed hawk fledglings have been seen making use of the park sprinklers to cool off. 

This was the scene on a recent muggy evening:

These video clips show the hawk hop, flap, and roll around in the water.

In addition to flapping around in the sprinkles, the hawk got down in the puddle water to wet its underside.

The fanned tail reveals this to be our funky-tailed individual.

After the bath, it's time to go to a higher perch to dry off.

It's been nice to see the majority of people in the park giving these hawks their space as they learn to hunt and take care of themselves. 

 

However, it's important to stay vigilant and speak up if someone gets too close. It's tempting to walk up to the hawks as they perch on the fences, but they are not tame, and have talons that are designed to shred flesh. These hawks are beloved by our community and we want to see them continue to thrive. If you see anyone harassing the hawks, please call 311 and report them the Park Police or the Urban Park Rangers. Red-tailed hawks (and nearly all the other birds in the park) are protected by the Migratory Bird Treaty Act, with violators being subject to fines and/or jail time.

Hawk fledglings chase squirrels, catch prey, and play in a sprinkler

The Tompkins Square red-tailed hawk fledglings have really been spectacular the last several days as they demonstrate their ever-improving hunting skills.

The young hawks always go for the squirrels, who easily out-maneuver them, but there have been a few close strikes. The squirrel in these photos seemed to have no fear as it taunted the hawk, but its luck may change some day.

Those are serious talons!

This fledgling took several runs at a squirrel on a tree, but came up short each time.

However, the hawks have had success catching their own prey. This one grabbed a pigeon right in front of me. They have also caught rats and mice.

After getting so much exercise chasing prey around the park, this fledgling decided to cool off in one of the playground sprinklers.

These videos show the hawk's thorough bathing process.

After the shower, the hawk flew up to a fence to dry off. Seeing them use the sprinklers is something I look forward to each year.

I'm really happy to see this trio making so much progress seeing as they have only been out of the nest for less than a month. The time flies quickly, so if you're passing through the park in the next couple of weeks, be sure to seek them out before they decide to take off on their own.

Shower scene

While one of the Tompkins Square hawk fledglings was showering over at the swimming pool, its sibling decided to frolic in the sprinkler behind the park offices.

Let's play!





Note the big stick in the photos above - it made the perfect hawk toy.













After playing with the stick for several minutes, the hawk settled in for a thorough shower.





When a hawk shakes, it creates rainbows!





Also check out Urban Hawks, who has some beautiful hawk shower photos.

More close encounters with hawks

Following the previous post where one of the Tompkins Square hawk fledglings didn't seem to mind being close to people, here is another example.

This hawk had been playing in a fenced-in area as observers watched from behind the fences and benches. Suddenly, the hawk decided to perch on the back of a bench, just a couple of feet away from the closest observers.

Not sure what to do, the people who were standing there remained in place. I was actually much further away, and took all of these photos with a 400mm zoom lens, and the photos are cropped.

After a couple of minutes, the hawk took off.

To the sprinkler!

This was a really hot day and one of the fledglings took advantage of the playground sprinkler along Avenue A. It hopped around, playing with sticks and leaves.

Later, the hawk did a little gardening.

This photo was taken the morning after part of the elm tree by the chess tables came down in a storm.

Squirrels ran around within the broken limbs, and this fledgling couldn't quite work out how to catch any of them.

 

Two of the three fledglings briefly teamed up to strategize catching those squirrels...

One of the hawks eventually took off, but the other remained and played around on the fence.

I thought the hawk was going to fly past me...

...but it just got closer! My camera lost focus after this shot as the hawk landed on the bench and I had to back away.

These young hawks have been such a joy this season. They've been full of energy despite the oppressive heat and humidity, and have brought a lot of happiness to a lot of people.

Moe to come...