It was sixty degrees in Central Park today. The Great Horned Owl continued to be present and an Accipiter, either a Cooper’s or Sharp-shinned Hawk was seen nearby.
After the fly out of the Owl, it cleaned its talons and then broke off a branch and chewed on it. This has happened on previous nights. I’ve looked for any mention of this behavior on the internet and haven’t found anything that gives a clue about the reason for this interesting behavior.
This afternoon started a little slow. The Great Horned Owl was in usual spot around 2:30, and I was thinking what am I going to do until fly out at dusk? Luckily, a mature Cooper’s Hawk arrived and the owl decided to fly over to it to show it “who was boss”. Then the Cooper’s Hawk started calling and decided to try and show the owl who was boss. They ended up shifting from perch to perch a few times. There was no contact and it just a lot of bluster but fun to watch.
The Cooper’s Hawk left but returned about an hour later to make it’s presence known. This time the owl just ignored it.
While preening, the owl broke off a branch and chewed on it. It might have been using it to clean it’s beak. It was hard to tell.
Central Park was delightful this afternoon. After visiting the reservoir to see the Ring Necked Duck that’s been hanging around the southeast corner, I found a Peregrine Falcon perched on the south tower of The Eldorado.
Soon after, I found a Red-tailed Hawk in the Pinetum, who was joined by a second hawk. They circled over Seneca Village before moving out of sight.
My last bird of the day was the Great Horned Owl that has now been in the park for three weeks.
At the top of a tall pine this afternoon by the 79th Street Transverse north of the maintenance building, was an American Kestel eating what looked to be a house sparrow. This small falcon is one of New York City’s most beautiful birds.
The fall and winter months bring Cooper’s and Sharp-shinned Hawks to the park. On Halloween day, it was a Cooper’s Hawk that I saw in Central Park. An immature bird that was born this year.
I went to Governors Island for the afternoon, and did the typical tourist stuff. But I did get some great view of an American Kestrel. The ferry to the island is only $2 and runs through the last weekend in September.
