Urban Hawks

October 4, 2018December 18, 2020Tompkins Square Red-tailed Hawks

Imposter in Tompkins Square Park

This late in the year, I always question if the juvenile I’m watching near a nest site is from the nest or a migrating juvenile whose just passing through. This happens frequently in Central Park, but I saw it for the first time in Tompkins Square Park yesterday. The juvenile I saw was definitely not the surviving fledgling. It had very different tail feathers and different chest markings.

Regardless of who this hawk is, it was great to watch. It ended up having a fun interaction with two squirrels.

October 1, 2018December 16, 2020Bats, Other Red-tailed Hawks

Bats and a Red-tailed Hawk

I stopped by Central Park’s Pond on my way home. The Pond is located just north of the Plaza Hotel at the south east end of the park. The usual suspects were there, including a Wood Duck, a Black-crowned Night Heron, Mallards and Canada Geese, plus the hundreds of Common Grackles coming home to roost in the trees surrounding the Pulitzer Fountain of Grand Army Plaza.

What I didn’t expect to find were two Eastern-Red Bats feeding at around 6 p.m. Usually, I need to rely on my Echo Meter Touch to identify my bats, but these were clearly Eastern-Red Bats just by watching them. I did my best to get some pictures without flash in the low light.

After sunset, a Red-tailed Hawk flew around the Pond and the buildings on Central Park South. I suspect one of the adults we saw bringing nesting materials to Crown Building earlier this year. These hawks continue to be a mystery, but it was good to see they’re still around.

September 30, 2018December 19, 2020927 5th Avenue Red-tailed Hawks, Eagles, Falcons, Hawks and Osprey

Pale Male and a Cooper’s Hawk

I caught up with Pale Male just north of the Obelisk on Sunday, and then a young Cooper’s Hawk eating a bird a bit further north. Nice to see that are starting to get some visiting raptors to the park.

September 30, 2018December 19, 2020Tompkins Square Red-tailed Hawks

Tompkins Square Park Parents

I went down to Tompkins Square Park on Wednesday to look for the surviving youngster from this year. Reports are that this hawk has recovered from its illness, and is still being seen in the park every few days. I didn’t get to see the youngster but caught up with the parents, who were on different church crosses in the neighborhood.

September 24, 2018December 19, 2020Other Birds

Ruby-throated Hummingbird

Central Park continues to have a good number of Ruby-throated Hummingbirds…

September 22, 2018December 19, 2020927 5th Avenue Red-tailed Hawks

Pale Male and Octavia

Today both Pale Male and Octavia were both at the northern reaches of their territory. Pale Male was on a building at 87th and Fifth, which has a nice view of the Reservoir and the birds migrating south. Today, that included a kettle of Broad-winged Hawks and two Bald Eagles. Octavia was up north as well and I found her perched on the north side of the Met. This northern area is full of food in the fall, with rodents eating apples near the Hamilton Statue, song birds that die due to collisions with the Temple of Dendur windows, and rodents on the Birdle Path south and east of the Reservoir.