Late Afternoon Around The Ballfields

The 888 fledgling is being encouraged to do some hunting by her parents. But she’s not doing that great at hunting yet. It takes practice and she’ll get the hang of it soon.

Here she is perched on the northern side of the ballfields. I’m calling her a she because of the size of the band Bobby Horvath used to band her, a 7D. This is the largest size used for Red-tails, so the odds are 99% that she’s a she. Her band number is 1207-98290.

The more I learn about Bobby Horvath, the more I admire him. Last Wednesday, he was involved with an Osprey rescue where with the help with a friend, two good samaritans and a ladder borrowed from a local fire house, he freed a young fledgling who had gotten caught in rope and fishing tackle that its parents had used to build the nest. The bird dislocated its hip hanging upside down and thrashing to get free, so Bobby has been nursing it back to health.

She then moved to the southern edge of the ballfields.

She picked up what looked like leftovers and began to eat them. She perched on a fence post near the playgrounds and attracted a crowd of about thirty.

Urban Hawks

and other wildlife in Central Park & NYC

Late Afternoon Around The Ballfields