January 19, 2013

1/19, Hunting by the Pool

A juvenile red-tail was hunting by Central Park's Pool late Saturday afternoon, very close to where I usually enter the park these days. Unfortunately, I had to swing by the office to get a camera lens and entered the park at another entrance, so didn't encounter the hawk until sunset approached.

Juvie Red-Tail by the Pool

The big clue to his presence along the north side of the Pool was the crowd of blue jays who were trying to chase him off. But his spot in a cluster of smaller branches seemed to prevent them from really getting at him. Eventually the jays gave up.

(BTW: For future reference, note that raggedy tail.)

As the sky got darker, one would have thought the young hawk would be getting ready to roost: looking for a better spot or preening. But no, he was fidgety: shuffling around on his branch, switching to a nearby branch, swiping his beak, perhaps trying to break off twigs.

A meal may have also have been on the hawk's mind, as at about 5:00 (after official sunset) he took off and flew a couple hundred yards towards the North Meadow and swooped down at the ground. But the targeted squirrel got away. A few minutes later, he returned to the Pool area. His new perch was more solid, perhaps a better place to roost.

January 19

Even so, the hawk remained fidgety and would not settle down. As the darkness and the cold increased, I left him to his own devices.

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