Tompkins Square hawk fledglings play with a rope, practice yoga poses

As we slog through this hot and humid summer, the Tompkins Square red-tailed hawk fledgling trio continue to play and hang out in the park. 

One afternoon, two of the three siblings found a rope hanging from a tree and played with it for a while.

Practice for catching dangling snakes, maybe?

I don't recall any of the previous fledglings having a rope toy, so this was a new observation for me.

I haven't seen the hawks spending as much time on the ground recently, as they have learned to take theor food up into the trees where it's safer to eat.

But, they do still swoop around and fly low, which is always a thrill.

This broken cherry tree trunk has been a great place for the young hawks to practice precise landing and perching.

The squirrels continue to torment the hawks as they always do. Most of the time, the squirrels can out-maneuver the hawks and get away.

This fledgling thought it could run along the scaffolding pipe and chase the squirrel, but the target was long gone by the time the hawk made it to the other end.

No worries though as the beam provided a good place to do some yoga stretches. We call this the "downward hawk" pose.

Stretching the leg while relaxing the foot.

I'm not sure what to call this move - maybe "fan dancer".

Calisthenics complete, the fledgling took off...

...and joined mom Amelia in a tree. She is on the lower branch while the fledgling is perched above her.

One notable milestone is parents Christo and Amelia have been spending time on their favorite perches outside of the park over the last few days. Amelia has stayed within the park nearly the entire time between March and June. She spent six weeks on the nest, then several more staying very close to the fledglings and helping to feed them. 

 

Christo has begun spending more time away from the park, allowing the youngsters to have space to fly and practice their hunting skills. Without as much food being provided by mom and dad, they have incentive to become self-sufficient.

Stay tuned...

This week's Tompkins Square hawk highlights

Every day with the Tompkins Square red-tailed hawk family is a gift, and I've really been enjoying observing the trio of fledglings this year. 

Who can resist this face?

I believe this one (pictured above and below) is the youngest of the three fledglings. It's smaller than its two siblings and has heavier speckling on its belly band. I speculate it's a male, and the older two are female, but this is a guess based on size alone.

The fledglings are extremely curious and will investigate and play with just about anything. The one below landed in the dog run (not the first time) and picked up a clod of dog poo...gross!

After playing with the clump for a couple of minutes, the hawk leapt up to the fence.

People in the dog run reacted quickly and kept their dogs back.

Thankfully, the hawk did not perch on the fence long and took off to seek another adventure.

This block of wood became an interesting toy for a few minutes.

Hmm, what next?

The hawk picked up another piece of wood and tossed it around. They do this to practice catching prey.

One way to tell the difference between the adults and the juveniles is by their behavior. The kids are clumsy and can be seen displaying comical behavior like this one who tripped and fell over a log.

Now attack that log!

Playing with the piece of wood again:

Carrying the wood and landing on the log with it is practice for carrying prey up into the trees. I watched a fledgling last night struggle with a dead pigeon (provided by dad), on a tree branch. The fledgling had to figure out how to hang on to the food while balancing on the branch. 

The fledglings have also been exploring buildings around the perimeter of the park. With each day that passes, their world expands a little more.

In previous seasons, we've seen the fledglings leave the area in late July or early August, so enjoy their antics in the park while we still have them.

More to come...

Red-tailed hawk fledglings practice catching sticks, take in some basketball

Blink and you might miss the fledgling red-tailed hawk zipping over your head in Tompkins Square Park.

The fledglings are now two and a half months old and are quickly learning aerial tricks. This trio has impressed me with their expert flying skills, no doubt passed on by Mom Amelia and Dad Christo. Amelia was named after famed pilot, Amelia Earhart, after all.

Flying and navigating the trees seems to be the first skill the young hawks have to master. Second is learning to hunt and capture prey. To do that, they practice with sticks, branches, leaves, and what ever else they can find. 

This video shows one of the fledglings practicing with a tree branch on the ground while one of its siblings makes a couple of flybys.

 

As the hawks were born within the park, they are accustomed to human noise and activity. This video shows one of them calmly perched on a fence with a basketball game going on behind it. The players were aware of the hawk, and neither human nor bird were disturbed by the other.

The scaffolding currently surrounding the park field house provides a nice perch for the birds.

There is still fun to be found in the flower gardens.

I like seeing how the hawks make everyone happy. We need more of this.

The squirrels are still faster and more agile than the hawks, taunting them every chance they get.

This poor cherry tree was damaged and looks to be dead, but its broken trunk has provided an ideal hawk perch for photos.

This fledgling is carrying some old food in its talons.

Two of the three fledglings have a discussion about what to do next.

One of them picked up a heavy rat left by Dad and struggled to drag it up into the tree. Taking their food up into the trees and eating it safely away from the ground is another skill the birds must learn. It's not as easy as it looks.

It's really wonderful to see all three doing so well.

More to come...