Following up on a rumor of another red-tailed hawk nest in Riverside Park, I opted to check the area around 108th St. on my way to Sunday dinner. There was no sign of a pair of hawks, but it did turn out there that there was a juvie busy hunting the area.
I first spotted her perched in a tree in the park at 110th St., head bobbing and twisting around as she considered the area prey. A few minutes later she took off and went after some pigeons along Riverside Drive. No luck, and after buzzing the little playground along the street she perched almost overhead.
Then back to the air for some circling around, a dive or two through the pigeons, etc.
Then some in-place soaring in the stiff breeze. She hung over Riverside Drive, perhaps 50 feet off the ground...
...again looking this and way and that for prey.
Then disappeared south around 106th St. Several minutes later after I'd look around for a bit and had decided to call it a day, she fluttered into a tree at 111th St, just fifteen away from me.
She didn't stay long, and was last seen diving into the park around 110th.
On Dec. 29th in 2007 I was waiting for friend to drive us to Shawangunk and I spent a few minutes on Riverside Drive and 109th St. During the few minutes I was there I spotted 2 individual Red-tailed Hawks interacting and both of them were juveniles.
ReplyDelete