Bandshell Babies

Sunday we were so delighted to see four hawks in the Bethesda Fountain/Bandshell/Elm Grove (Literary Walk) area of Central Park. Our first sighting was Sheep Meadow Mama, whom we hadn't seen in a very long time since her nest blew down in Sheep Meadow last winter. She was flying around, chasing out a first-year red-tailed hawk that was in the west elm grove.

Sheep Meadow Mama, Oct. 23, 2016, near the Bandshell in Central Park

The youngster flew north of the Bandshell and settled in a tree for a while before moving to a streetlight over Terrace Drive. After watching this kid for some time, my friend went to see if Sheep Meadow Mama was still in the grove. Instead, he found another first-year hawk in the east grove.

First-year red-tailed hawk over Terrace Drive, Oct. 23, 2016

The second first-year hawk in the elm grove, Oct. 23, 2016

The second hawk flew to another tree just south of the Bandshell, caught a rat down in the ivy, flew back to the east elm grove, and ate the rat. When finished, the kid flew east of Bethesda Fountain. We heard a very loud kier, saw the youngster fly west over us toward Sheep Meadow, while Octavia (Pale Male's mate, a hawk with a very loud cry) flew north.

The video really shows the two kids. We wondered if they were siblings, since they both have the very long "eyebrows" and very similar head shapes.

This first gallery is of the first youngster we saw.

This is the second kid, including a fuzzy shot of the meal.

The Most Charming Flycatcher

The eastern phoebe is one of Central Park's most delightful visitors. When they arrive in March and September during migrations, they light up the park with their fluttering and song. I've been watching them since 2013. One of the best days ever was March 29, 2015, when we had phoebes flying all around Turtle Pond, perching on the edge of the water or on bare branches emerging from the water. Most of the video that follows is from that day, but also contains some footage from 2013 and 2016. If I saw phoebes in 2014, I either can't find the videos and photos, or just didn't take any!

Eastern phoebe, March 31, 2015

The video is set to the "Lark" symphony by Haydn (the same music I used for the Say's Phoebe video earlier this year).

The first nine photos are from March 2015, and the last three from March, September and October 2016.

More Hawk Chasing in Central Park

The return of mice to my hovel (see my Why Every Rat Is Guido posting)  reminded me how glad I am that we have hawks in Central Park to help keep the rodent population in check. I have often considered inviting a hawk or owl into my apartment for dinner, but I am very aware how unwise that would be. So I will continue to discourage the mice from entering the hovel, and keep my hawk watching confined to the great outdoors.

The Strawberry Fields Hunting Grounds

I saw a young red-tailed hawk in Strawberry Fields on Oct. 5 and one on Oct. 12. While they could be the same hawk, from looking at the pictures and video clips, I now believe they were two different hawks. The youngster on Oct. 5 had trouble keeping the right eyelid open. That could just be a scratch, or it could mean an eye injury or sickness. But the hawk was very alert, and later I heard from friends that after I left, the youngster caught a rat and ate it, then got bopped out of a tree by Ginger, one of the adult red-tailed hawks who hunt between 72nd Street and 96th Street. So I hope the youngster's eye got better.

Young red-tailed hawk in Strawberry Fields, Oct. 5, 2016

The hawk on Oct. 12 was first seen in Strawberry Fields. The bird had a huge crop, but still took off for the Lake while I was there and caught a huge rat. The bird found a private table, so I didn't get to watch the meal. Later that evening I returned to Strawberry Fields and found the youngster on a tree over one of the paths. I watched the kid until dark.

Juvenile red-tailed hawk near Strawberry Fields, Oct. 12, 2016

I put together a video that includes both sightings. To me, the Oct. 12 hawk seems more fierce and has darker eyebrows, another reason I think they were two different birds.

The Oct. 5th red-tailed youngster:

This is the youngster from Oct. 12:

The Zen of Pale Male

On Sept. 20 and Oct. 10, I got to see Pale Male in Maintenance Meadow and at Turtle Pond. The video shows the zen of this magnificent bird as he surveys his realm.

Pale Male seems particularly fond of perching on the top of the gingko tree in Maintenance Meadow, as well as hanging out on the London plane tree there. At Turtle Pond, he favors the pines, but on Oct. 10 he also went into trees near the pond edge.