Eagles, Falcons, Hawks and Osprey, Other Red-tailed Hawks

Juvenile Red-tailed and Cooper’s Hawks

I found a juvenile Red-tailed Hawk eating a Grey Squirrel on a Great Lawn baseball backstop. After I got closer, it had finished eating. This is the same hawk I’ve seen chasing squirrels over the last few days here. It was good to see it able to catch one. As I started photographing, a young Cooper’s Hawk appeared next to the Red-tailed Hawk. I suspecting it was hoping to get leftovers. I’ve seen young hawks of both species steal food from the other species in the past.

Other Birds

Chimney Swifts

It looks like the Chimney Swift roost on Fifth Avenue now has double or triple the number of swifts going to roost nightly then in August. I suspect we have a mix of local and migrating swifts now. No mater how many times I watch them drop into the chimney, I still am amazed at how they all seem to get sucked in as though there’s a vacumn.

Owls

Great Horned Owl

Central Park had a Great Horned Owl over the weekend. While it got publicity on Twitter, the birders that came to watch it were very respectful. It was very nice to see that some of the photographers and folks who had watched the Snowy and Barred Owls, sent out reminder tweets not to use flash and to be quiet during the day while the owl slept. I was happy to see the Central Park owl watching community get ahead of possible problems.

The Great Horned Owl roosted in a much lower spot than we’re used to seeing visiting Great Horned Owls, so it gave everyone who saw it great looks. It moved branches once during the day.

It was found by both Blue Jays and American Crows, who came back repeatedly to harass it. Plus the endless flyovers of helicopters didn’t help it get uninterrupted sleep.