A Hunter in the Ramble

There was a lot of hawk action on January 18. Part 6 of Hawky New Year! shows a first-year red-tailed hawk at Bethesda Fountain, then another young hawk hunting a squirrel near the rustic shelter in the Ramble. The hawk was flying around us as we fed the birds, and eventually swooped down right by me as it grabbed the squirrel. It ate half on the ground, then flew to a tree near the Oven and finished off the rest. There was also a Cooper's hawk in a tree over the Oven.

Young red-tailed hawk in the Ramble, Jan. 18, 2017

The alertness of the red-tailed hawk as he ate has been noticed with all the young first-year hawks we've been seeing with their prey. It's one thing to catch the dinner, another thing to eat it without having it stolen by another hawk.

There is some graphic hawk dining in this video.

The first two photographs are of the young hawk at Bethesda Fountain. The next photos are of the young red-tailed hawk who caught the squirrel. The last photo is of the Cooper's hawk above the Oven.

Ruffled Feathers

Part 5 of the Hawky New Year! series features one adult and some first-year red-tailed hawks visiting Central Park on Jan. 16 and 17. Jan. 17 was a rainy day, and one of the young hawks, after chasing some squirrels, ended up wet with feathers sticking out.

A young red-tailed hawk in the Ramble, Jan. 17, 2017

The video for these two days features hawks flying around and chasing squirrels, but no graphic hawk dining. So a violence-free Part 5.

The light wasn't great on either day, but I did manage to get some nice photos of our fearless feathered friends. This first grouping is from Jan. 16. Hawk No. 1 was over Strawberry Fields when I first walked into the park, an adult showing the red tail. It was probably Ginger, of the Beresford Hawks.

These photos are from Jan. 17, including a photo showing two youngsters at the Oven.

A Hawky Lunch at Bow Bridge

Part 4 of the Hawky New Year! video series shows us a first-year red-tailed hawk after catching a pigeon at the base of Bow Bridge in Central Park on Jan. 15. The hawk spent two hours with the prey, first standing on it and watching the spectators watching him, then plucking out all the feathers and having lunch. The video is pretty graphic, but interesting in that it covers the meal from catch until flight to a nearby tree to digest.

The hawk didn't seem all that perturbed at having a human audience for the meal, but some of the people behaved badly and a lot of energy was expended keeping them away from the hawk.

I originally had 60 minutes of video, but I've cut it down to 35. I made a 60-minute version, but the shorter version shows the most important moments so that's the one I've posted.

Hawks are nature at her rawest. These magnificent birds have evolved in a way that keeps the population of rodents and birds down. They are efficient hunters, and eat what they kill. I don't know how to explain my fascination with the red-tailed hawks, other than to show you these videos and the photos. 

The last three photos below are of a second young red-tailed hawk who was hanging out in the Ramble.