All over New York City, wintering hawks are establishing themselves in various parks. I’ve received emails about hawks on the Upper East Side, down in Washington Square Park, and Riverside Park in Manhattan, as well as other locations in Queens and Brooklyn.
This Cooper’s Hawk seems to have settled into the Loch in Central Park, and looks like it might stay the winter.
I walked up from the mid-70s to the North Woods to look for Screech-Owls and came along some interesting diversions along the way. On a building at 89th Street and Central Park West was a Red-tailed Hawk. This section of the park, west of the Reservoir, usually has a Red-tailed guest during the winter. To my surprise there were two Red-tailed Hawks, something I’m not used to seeing here.
Then while waiting for it to get dark, a Cooper’s Hawk dove into the Loch. It caught a squirrel and ate it. It’s the first time I’ve seen a Cooper’s Hawk with a squirrel.
Lastly, I was able to see and hear both of the North Woods resident Eastern Screech-Owls. They’ve switched roosts, so we felt lucky to find them.
On the way out of the park, I saw that the Lasker Pool is now the Lasker Rink! Another sign of the changing seasons.
The North Woods of Central Park were very quiet on Saturday afternoon. I had gone looking for Eastern Screech-Owls, who become harder to find this time of year, as they switch from tree top roost to cavity roosts. The owls gave me the slip and I didn’t hear them after dark.
The best bird I saw was this Cooper’s Hawk hunting along the Loch.
On Saturday, I had a Cooper’s Hawk in the Ramble. It was easy to find because of a group of Blue Jays, and the lack of any birds eating at the feeders!
And of course, the required photographs of Pale Male and Lola, as well.
While leaving the Wildflower Meadow, I flushed an immature Sharp-shinned Hawk by accident. I was able to watch its wing beats and see its tail shape to confirm it was a Sharp-shinned, rather than a Cooper’s Hawk. It was just another reminder that summer was almost over. The light was already starting to fail, so the pictures aren’t that great.
It was great to see something completely unexpected. Migrations season can be like that. You think you know what to expect and then you’ll see something unusual.
I did get to see one of the Eastern Screech-Owls in their roost tree. They really seem to have settled down again now that most of the tree removal work is done.
Bald Eagles were easy to find in the Lamar Valley and along the Yellowstone River in Yellowstone National Park and in Grand Teton National Park along the Snake River.
For someone who is used to having to brave cold winter weather up in Croton-on-Hudson to see Eagles, viewing them in summer weather was a joy.
