1/12, Hunting in the Ravine

Late on a very dreary Saturday afternoon, a young red-tail was hunting in Central Park's Ravine.

As I watched over the course of about 40 minutes, he worked his way from a tree near the waterfall west to another overlooking the Huddlestone Arch. Then off to a tree alongside the Pool, and then as sunset arrived, out of the park to the rooftop right above the 103rd St. subway entrance.

At last sight, he was flying west along 103rd, perhaps on his way to look for a rat near one of the project dumpsters.

1/5, First Hawks of the Year

Late on a gorgeous Saturday afternoon, I encountered a couple of red-tails hunting in the North Woods of Central Park. First sighting was of a hawk flying over the Great Hill and into the neighborhood between the park and the Douglass Houses, but whoever that was went by before I was able to get the camera ready. Fifteen minutes later I found an adult perched along the edge of the North Meadow.

Note the very light eye color. This may be the same adult hawk spotted by James in the area three weeks ago, as the light eyes and also the tail band look the same. If so, this could be a "replacement" hawk who is taking over the role once claimed by the Cathedral red-tail (Norman?) believed killed during Hurricane Sandy.

The adult was head-bobbing and hunting.

And was only there for five minutes before flying over to a tree by the access road for a moment, then taking off again and disappearing in the direction of the skating rink.

A stroll through the Ravine and the North Woods didn't reveal the adult. But as sunset approached and I was headed toward the Douglass Circle park exit, a youn red-tail was spotted watching over the park loop.

You'd think it was time to find a good roost and do some pre-sleep preening, but the 9- or 10-month old seemed to be hunting. It wasn't the best spot and I wondered if he was killing time until the rats supposedly start to emerge from the nearby subway gratings after dark.

Over the next twenty minutes, the young bird shifted over to a tree by the park wall at 108th St., where he was last seen as it got too dark to watch.

Wyoming Mystery Hawk

I haven't been able to get out and about in the city the last couple months. The photo above may be the most recent hawk I have seen.

The photo was taken the weekend of Aug. 18 in the Wind River Range in Wyoming at an elevation of about 10,000 feet and just a few miles from the Continental Divide. As it circled overhead several hundred feet away, it seemed huge, bigger than a red-tail. It wasn't until getting a few poor photos onto the computer that I could be sure it wasn't an eagle.

If it's not a red-tail, I've yet to figure out what this hawk is. Other large(r) Wyoming hawks are typically described as preferring more open territory, either prairie or farmland.

I did get a nice long look at a big ferruginous hawk the weekend before this photo was taken. It was in the kind of territory that you'd expect to encounter one, and about 2000 ft lower in elevation than the pic above.