Not What I Was Looking For…

By D. Bruce YoltonEagles, Falcons, Hawks and Osprey, Other Birds, Other Red-tailed Hawks

I went into Central Park on Saturday hoping to find a Cooper’s Hawk, take a few pictures of Pale Male and then go off to the Monk Parakeets on Amsterdam Avenue.

As often happens when birding, I ended up with a different set of observations.

This American Kestrel was on the Met.  I missed the Cooper’s Hawk, which I found out from other birders had spent an hour in the Tupelo tree in the Ramble.
The Reservoir had a number of ducks, including two pairs of Hooded Mergansers.
American Coot
Pied-billed Grebe
Pied-billed Grebe
I then went off to 103rd and Amsterdam.  No sign of the Parakeets, who seem to have completed their nest/roost.  I suspect that they’ll be harder to spot now, since they’re going to spend more time exploring the neighborhood now that the nest is done.
Having struck out with the Parakeets, I went to the The Pool and the Loch in Central Park.  The Pool was quiet and partially frozen over.  In the Loch, I heard a group of Blue Jays.  They were aggressively after this juvenile Red-tailed Hawk.  There are a number of young hawks in the city this fall.  One is in Tompkins Square Park, which someone has given a very complicated Myspace page.
Attacking Blue Jay in the lower right.
This young hawk moved from tree to tree moving west to the Pond and then up to the Great Hill.  It made a number of half hearted hunting attempts along the way.
Good luck making it through your first winter.