Pale Male and Octavia
Pale Male hunted near one of his favorite roosts tonight. While he was eating, Octavia flew in to join him. They ended up roosting only a few feet apart at the top of London Plane Tree.
Central Park Bats
This time of year, if you sit near the hawk bench at the Model Boat Pond at dusk, you’ll see lots of Chimney Swifts feeding. But as it gets darker, almost like magic, there are fewer and fewer swifts and in their place you’ll see bats.
Using a “bat detector” to monitor the pitch of the echolocation sound, I discovered the bats are primarily two species, Eastern Red Bat and Big Brown Bat.
Washington and Tompkins Square Park Hawks
Mid-August can be a frustrating time to watch hawks. Juveniles are becoming harder to find as they expand their range, and for some precocious ones, begun to migrate. So, for the last week I’ve had to be content to find some adult hawks in both Washington and Tompkins Square Parks.
Squirrel Standoff
It was too hot to stay too long watching the Tompkins Square Hawks. Plus the punk bands celebrating the TSP riot, were a little too loud. But I did get to see two fledglings and Dora. There was a funny squirrel/hawk standoff too. A squirrel climbed a small tree that the hawk was in, and then realized it wasn’t a good idea. Luckily, no one was hurt.
Dora and High Flying
I didn’t spend much time in Tompkins Square Park this evening, but saw a fledgling near Avenue A, two young hawks soaring over the Lower East Side and Dora on a church cross.
Father and Child
Tonight, Christo acted almost like it was late fall. He spend the evening in the park, casting a pellet, visited the flag pole and did some hunting. It was nice to spend time with him. One of the fledglings was also in the park and on nearby buildings. A nice evening, finally with some normal temperatures too.
