The Washington Square hawks took their time arriving in the square this evening, waiting until just before sunset to appear. There was a visit to the nest with a rearrangement of a brown paper bag. Then Bobby roosted in a familiar place.
This afternoon in Washington Square was fun. Both hawks were very easy to find and for the first time, I got to see the nearby Peregrine Falcon in detail. The Peregrine Falcon is a juvenile and may be roosting on 100 Bleecker Street, an I. M. Pei designed, International Style building used for NYU faculty housing.
Bobby roosted on MacDougal street building this evening. It’s a noisy perch, but does have a view of 100 Bleecker!
The Washington Square pair was perched together when I arrived at the park today. There was enough snow to be beautiful, but not enough to cause any major transportation issues.
Booby, the male, did some hunting and just missed catching a pigeon. I missed capturing the moment, but you should see a great picture on Roger Paw’s blog.
Rosie visited the nest and at some point both hawks appeared to go east of Broadway.
At nightfall, Rosie went north leaving the east side of One Fifth Avenue, and going between the Brevoort and Brevoort East apartment buildings (a complex that takes up the entire block bounded by 8th, 9th, Fifth and University.) She’s gone this way before. What’s hard to tell is if she is swinging into a protected courtyard in the center of The Brevoort to roost, or if she continues to the gardens of the Brownstones a block or two north.
Bobby roosted in what has become his favorite place these last few weeks, on the south side of the park.
Bobby and Rosie continue to act more like a fully mated pair with each passing day. This afternoon, Rosie shared food with Bobby and also visited the nest. Hopefully, we’ll see the hawks copulate soon as the days grow longer.
Today, I spent most of my time in Washington Square following the male hawk, Bobby. He was very cooperative in the late afternoon and was easy to keep track of.
The new female in Washington Square, whose nickname is Rosie, was very active this afternoon, while Bobby mostly watched from a London Plane tree. Rosie is like so many young Red-tails. She flies around going after anything she sees in the park before she settles down and makes a good kill.
Bobby, being older, has already learned to relax and take his time while hunting. He caught a rodent, just after sunset, with only a patient ten minute wait on a branch.
Besides both of them hunting this afternoon. Rosie brought a branch to the nest and Bobby joined her, but was harassed and nearly hit by a Peregrine Falcon. (For those who are worried about the Peregrines, we saw this behavior for years at St. John the Divine. Although it was a hassle for the Red-tails, nothing every happened to them.)
