It's that time of year when we start to bid farewell to our hawk fledglings. The Tompkins Square trio have had a successful season this year, so it's hard to think of being in the park without them.
One of the fledglings recently left the park and spent several days exploring the Village View housing complex.
On this day, I saw it chasing mice around in the bushes, and eventually catch one.
Although it's great to see the young hawks being independent and finding food in new areas, my concern is always the threat of rat poison. The Parks Department does not use rodenticide in Tompkins Square (they have been successfully using dry ice for several years), but there is rat poison all over the neighborhood and city. Village View does use it, so I wasn't too happy to see one of the hawks actively hunting here.
I'm hoping this hawk has since moved on to another place to find food. That said, the residents and staff members I spoke to were all delighted to have the hawk visit them and also expressed concerns about the use of rodenticide on the property.
Meanwhile, one of the other fledglings is still making use of the park.
I found this one in the morning as it swooped around the west side of the park.
It nabbed some trash from the main lawn. At least someone knows how to pick up litter!
Perched on the scaffolding at the restrooms: will this renovation project ever end?
On Monday morning, this fledgling, who I think is the same individual as the one above, scavenged an old rat from the bushes on the east side of the park.
The fledgling stayed close to mom Amelia as it ate its breakfast. She and Christo have both kept close watch over their kids in the park. They are terrific parents and work extremely well together. I'll post more about them in the coming weeks.
