After a few days of not running into any of the hawks at the Cathedral of St. John the Divine, Monday evening was almost a bit of an overload. Action and noise galore, but no blood so it didn't get a PG rating.
It started off quietly, just a single fledgling in sight, perched atop a Deanery chimney with surprisingly no robins to complain about it.
A circuit around the cathedral close seemed quiet, but wait, a hawk in the air. Not the chimney fledgling, as he was just making a move over to the roof of the Cathedral School.
And then the air got busy. Pigeons swirling around, and two young hawks circling and circling around.
A bit hard to say, but it does look like the two young hawks are a girl with a heavy belly band and a boy with a slightly less dark band.
And then the duo disappeared. No, one was just visible perched way up the cathedral wall where the nave meets the crossing.
Then a hawk came busting out of the east and into the trees in front of the Cathedral House. Who was that?
Mama Isolde was present. After a few minutes of looking around, often back over toward the cathedral, she headed that way herself.
Perched partway up the wall, she had one child above her and one below. She took off again, and returned to the trees.
But the young hawk below had seen her and was hungry for a meal. He started begging, shrieking like a steam whistle.
And then decide to chase after mama.
Over into the trees. Beg, beg, beg. Then onto the branch where Isolde was perched so fast that she took off, heading over to the spires atop St. James chapel.
The fledge chased after and Isolde took off. She circled around and around and around, and finally peeled off to the south, perhaps headed toward the Douglass Houses.
Dang!
The hungry fledge again disappeared into the trees and things quieted down.
Meanwhile, the other fledge was still perched up near the roof of the cathedral, chowing down on part of a pigeon. Once again, the quiet fledgling dines while the whiner goes hungry.
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