Red-Tailed Bath Time

Part 7 of Hawky New Year! features young red-tailed hawks hanging around the Ramble, Pale Male hanging out on a streetlight, and a youngster taking a butt bath east of SummerStage on the afternoon of the Women's March. Dates: Jan. 19 through Jan. 22.

A first-year red-tailed hawk takes a bath near SummerStage, Jan. 21, 2017

Young red-tailed hawk, Jan. 19, 2017

Pale Male, near the obelisk, Jan. 22, 2017

The Hawky New Year! video, Part 7, Jan. 19-22.

The photos varied in quality because of cloudy days among the sunny days.

I saw a Cooper's hawk on Jan. 20. I got a photo, but didn't get any video. So here's the shot:

A Hunter in the Ramble

There was a lot of hawk action on January 18. Part 6 of Hawky New Year! shows a first-year red-tailed hawk at Bethesda Fountain, then another young hawk hunting a squirrel near the rustic shelter in the Ramble. The hawk was flying around us as we fed the birds, and eventually swooped down right by me as it grabbed the squirrel. It ate half on the ground, then flew to a tree near the Oven and finished off the rest. There was also a Cooper's hawk in a tree over the Oven.

Young red-tailed hawk in the Ramble, Jan. 18, 2017

The alertness of the red-tailed hawk as he ate has been noticed with all the young first-year hawks we've been seeing with their prey. It's one thing to catch the dinner, another thing to eat it without having it stolen by another hawk.

There is some graphic hawk dining in this video.

The first two photographs are of the young hawk at Bethesda Fountain. The next photos are of the young red-tailed hawk who caught the squirrel. The last photo is of the Cooper's hawk above the Oven.

Ruffled Feathers

Part 5 of the Hawky New Year! series features one adult and some first-year red-tailed hawks visiting Central Park on Jan. 16 and 17. Jan. 17 was a rainy day, and one of the young hawks, after chasing some squirrels, ended up wet with feathers sticking out.

A young red-tailed hawk in the Ramble, Jan. 17, 2017

The video for these two days features hawks flying around and chasing squirrels, but no graphic hawk dining. So a violence-free Part 5.

The light wasn't great on either day, but I did manage to get some nice photos of our fearless feathered friends. This first grouping is from Jan. 16. Hawk No. 1 was over Strawberry Fields when I first walked into the park, an adult showing the red tail. It was probably Ginger, of the Beresford Hawks.

These photos are from Jan. 17, including a photo showing two youngsters at the Oven.