Urban Hawks

November 20, 2011Washington Sq. Red-tailed Hawks

Rat Control In Washington Square

I received an email yesterday about my comment for the need for rat control in Washington Square. I was accused of advocating poisons, which would led to the death of the hawks in Washington Sq. This knee jerk reaction isn't helpful.

Washington Square now has a serious rat problem. One that two hawks will never be able to solve on their own!

This problem left to escalate will mean baiting stations will soon appear, if not in the park itself, in the front gardens of all of the buildings that face the park.

The late fall is a perfect time for the park to study the problem. Using florescent markers, the park can study the rat populations and help formulate a plan of action.

The new park design has many features that are encouraging rats. There are also lapses in basic sanitation. Examples of these issues include:

Bushy plantings rather grass around food sources such as picnic tables, playgrounds and trash cans.
Trash cans that are not rat proof.
Trash not being removed from trash cans before dusk.
The public continues to feed birds and squirrels, which also ends up feeding the rats.

So rather than sticking our heads in the sand, we should encourage the Parks Department to work with the Department of Health to study the problem and develop an action plan to control the rat population of the park, while protecting the resident hawks.

November 19, 2011December 19, 2020Washington Sq. Red-tailed Hawks

Washington Square Hawks

Both Bobby and Violet were in the western side of Washington Square Park on Saturday. Bobby went to roost in a tree near the chess tables and was easy to photograph.

I stayed after sunset, and there was a large population of rats that came out around the chess tables. The new plantings and small open trash cans seem to be creating a perfect environment for the rodents.

I suspect a plan of attack against the rodents will be needed soon. I hope the proper balance between rodent control and hawk safety can be found.

November 5, 2011December 25, 2020Extralimital, Other Red-tailed Hawks

San Francisco

I’m on vacation in San Francisco. My hotel is on Nob Hill. In the mid-afternoon I saw some pigeons in flight out my window and wondered if there was a hawk nearby. It turns out there were two Red-tailed Hawks, an adult and an immature bird.

October 30, 2011December 19, 2020Other Red-tailed Hawks

Young Red-tailed Hawk

There was a young Red-tailed Hawk flying between 100th and 111th Street along Fifth Avenue this afternoon. It was impossible to tell if it was a migrant or a hawk that was born on a nearby nest this spring.

October 30, 2011December 25, 2020Other Animals

Chipmunk

While Chipmunks are common in the surrounding areas, I had never seen one in Central Park until today. I had heard they had returned a few years ago, but never ran across one until today. It was on the eastern slope of the Great Hill.

The condition of the park was mixed after the very early snow storm. The trees still had leaves and the snow was very wet. While some trees had fallen over, most of the damage seemed to be limited to broken branches. The greatest damage was in the southern section of the park.

Update: 10/31/11 – I’ve received word that the damage is worse than I estimated from my walk in the north.

The park staff is going to be working very hard to clean up the damage and get ready for the New York City Marathon which is next Sunday.

October 23, 2011December 25, 2020Other Birds

Two Types of Grebes

Today was a good day for Grebe watching on the Reservoir. Today, we had both a fairly rare visitor, a Horned Grebe and a more common visitor a Pied-Billed Grebe.

Pied-billed Grebe in the upper left, with to Ruddy ducks as a size reference in the lower right.