All posts tagged urban wildlife

Washington Square’s Juvenile Red-tailed Hawks Take First Flight Monday!

Fledge to nearby ledge!

There are two juvenile hawks this year as opposed to last year when there was just one – sweet Pip. And on Monday, Memorial Day evening, they both took their first flight from the 12th floor ledge of the Bobst Library.

Urban Hawks Blog recounted some of the unusual aspects of this fledge (more photos too):

Fledge Day at Washington Square turned out to be unlike any I have every watched. Both eyasses fledged within ten minutes of each other (8:05 and 8:15) and ended up on the same ledge of a nearby NYU building. Red-tailed Hawks don’t normally fledge together, nor do they usually fledge to the same place. The fledge happened at dusk, another rarity.

I’ve noticed in the past that many in the hawk world think there is a certain order to all this and the Washington Square hawks keep defying it — which is fitting!

Photo by Washington Square avid hawk watcher and New York Times‘ Web Cam chat room moderator (I think I have that right!) Pondove via the New York Times.

** The history of the Washington Square hawks with the appearance of Violet and Bobby at WSP Blog. **

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by cathryn on May 30, 2012  •  Permalink
Posted in red-tailed hawks/rosie and bobby 2012
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Posted by cathryn on May 30, 2012

https://washingtonsquarepark.wordpress.com/2012/05/30/washington-squares-juvenile-red-tailed-hawks-take-first-flight-monday/

Baby Red-Tailed Hawk at Washington Square Leg Entangled – For Now, Intervention Pending

Rosie and Baby Hawks

Majorly adorable

First Mama Hawk Violet’s troubles with her leg band, now new baby hawk above Washington Square is having issues with her leg being entangled in a plastic bag in the nest …

The story from the New York Times(May 5):

For the last three days, one of the baby red-tailed hawks in Washington Square Park has had one leg tangled in a white plastic bag, causing panic among Hawk Cam fans about her well-being.

A team of wildlife experts, including the executive director of NYC Audubon, Glenn Phillips, has been closely monitoring the situation and working out how best to reach the baby hawk should it become necessary to intervene. The plan, for now, is to wait until next week before taking action on the nest.

“We all agree that the chick is not in any immediate danger, and that there is a good chance that the chick will free itself from the bag,” Mr. Phillips said in an e-mail.

But, he added, if by next week the eyas has not freed itself from the disposable bag, then a Long Island-based wildlife rehabilitator, Bobby Horvath, will attempt a rescue with a long-poled net.

It seems like some lessons were learned from last time.

Commenters at the Times‘ story had valid suggestions –

from mricle from the Bronx: “If we can ban smoking in public parks and beaches, we can ban disposable plastic bags. Even though paper bags kill trees, they certainly cause less pollution and wildlife issues, and are mostly biodegradable.”

from Sarah from Brooklyn: “Maybe this will be a wake up call to people about the evils of plastic bags!”

I haven’t written about this year’s hawks’ nest or the now growing baby hawks partly because I’m still sad over Violet’s death. For certain, new mom (and Bobby’s new mate) Rosie is really interesting and fun to watch but there was something very special about Violet. I felt for many of the hawk watchers whether there were new baby hawks this year was paramount, and, as long as there was a replacement mate, that was what mattered. I’m sure that’s not how it was – but that’s how it at times appeared. (Not targeting any specific person by any means…)

I never quite realized how intrusive the camera is in the nest. With all sophisticated technology available today, I wonder — could it be a bit less ‘in their faces?’

Photo: D. Bruce Yolton/Urban Hawks Blog

Archive at WSP Blog on Violet, Bobby and Pip

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by cathryn on May 7, 2012  •  Permalink
Posted in red-tailed hawks/rosie and bobby 2012
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Posted by cathryn on May 7, 2012

https://washingtonsquarepark.wordpress.com/2012/05/07/baby-red-tailed-hawk-at-washington-square-leg-entangled-for-now-intervention-pending/

Three (or Four) Red-Tailed Hawks Have Turned Up Dead in NYC Parks This Year

Via WPIX11 — Hawks Turning Up Dead in Manhattan Parks:

Several red-tailed hawks have been found dead in and around parks in Manhattan over the past two months. Two hawks were discovered in different sections of Central Park, and one in Riverside Park, according to Parks Department officials. All three were sent to the Department of Environmental Conservation’s pathology lab to determine the cause of their deaths.

“That to me is absolutely overwhelming,” said bird lover Virginia Arrea, who goes to Washington Square Park twice a day to look for a hawk she’s spotted there on a number of occasions.

“I love to see the majesty of the bird in the middle of New York City,” Arrea said.

Other recent deaths include Lima, the mate of celebrity hawk Pale Male. Two more dead hawks were found, one near Columbus Circle, and another near Peter Cooper Village on the Lower East Side.

Experts suspect the hawks may have consumed poison indirectly by eating sick rodents or pigeons which they might find outside the parks.

“We value our wildlife and work diligently to create the necessary balance between public health and safety, and wildlife health and safety,” said Parks’ First Deputy Commissioner Liam Kavanagh. “Out of concern for the resident red-tailed hawks in Central and Riverside Park, poisoned bait is not currently used.“

Here is the story from the NY Times when Pale Male’s (latest) mate, Lima, was found dead in late February.

Then there was this dramatic aspect to it when Lincoln Karim from the Pale Male Blog was arrested for possession of Lima’s body.

He was concerned that the body would not be tested accurately by governmental agencies to reveal the true source of her death.

NY Daily News reports on three but also mentions there’s a fourth: Three (Perhaps Four) Hawks Dead from NYC Parks March 9, 2012

Related at this blog:

* Parks Department says Rodenticide Removed at Washington Square; On Rethinking Use of Poison in Our Parks, May 7, 2011

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by cathryn on April 2, 2012  •  Permalink
Posted in wildlife
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Posted by cathryn on April 2, 2012

https://washingtonsquarepark.wordpress.com/2012/04/02/three-or-four-hawks-have-turned-up-dead-in-nyc-parks-this-year/

New Hawk on The Scene Over the Weekend – That is, Until Violet Found Out

Visiting juvenile hawk in the park

Over the weekend, there was a new hawk in town! A juvenile, according to Heather at Roger_Paw blog who has been photographing and reporting back non-stop on the three Washington Square Red-tailed hawks, Violet, Bobby & Pip. Young Pip seems to have flown the coop – as was expected. Apparently, the juveniles typically move on from their birth site, fly south around Fall Migration, and then may return but likely to another location ? I hope I have that right.
This brown & white speckled hawk was here over the weekend September 10th and 11th. On the 11th, Mama Hawk Violet returned and told the visitor to move on.

Violet!

There’s some great photos of the interaction between Violet & the visitor at Roger_Paw blog from Sunday the 11th. On the 10th, mystery hawk had the Park to himself.

Washington Square Squirrel Keeps an eye on Visiting Hawk


It’s unlikely this hawk will return after Violet, in no uncertain terms, expressed her displeasure but … we’ll see.

All Photos: Heather at Roger_Paw Blog

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by cathryn on September 14, 2011  •  Permalink
Posted in violet and bobby
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Posted by cathryn on September 14, 2011

https://washingtonsquarepark.wordpress.com/2011/09/14/new-hawk-on-the-scene-over-the-weekend-that-is-until-violet-found-out/

Last Night at Washington Square

Red-tailed Hawk Bobby Perched Atop the Judson Church Cross While…


This is neighborhood Red-tailed hawk Bobby, I presume, atop the Judson Church cross. Previously noted as one of his favorite haunts around the park, he lingered there for a long time.

Baby Soda Band Played on the Garibaldi Stage


Baby Soda (above) last night at the Park. They were quite good!

From their web site:

Baby Soda is on the forefront of a new movement loosely known as street jazz; with an eclectic set of influences ranging from 30’s era swing, New Orleans jazz, and southern gospel. The ensemble doesn’t desire to recreate the past, rather they bring the concept and joy of the music to the present.

Baby Soda is an adaptable and ever changing group made up of New York’s finest musicians; featuring trumpet, trombone, clarinet, banjo and the unique one string box bass.

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by cathryn on August 17, 2011  •  Permalink
Posted in happening at the Park, music, violet and bobby
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Posted by cathryn on August 17, 2011

https://washingtonsquarepark.wordpress.com/2011/08/17/last-night-at-washington-square/

Mama Hawk Violet Spotted At Washington Square — Visits the Nest With Bobby; Bobby and Pip splitting time between WSP and Union Square

I haven’t written about the Washington Square Park Red-tailed hawks of late. Last Thursday (8/11), hours before the New York Times shut down the HawkCam, and in time to be captured on video, Violet and Bobby returned to the nest together. Mama Hawk Violet had been ‘missing’ – not spotted in close to a month – so there was relief that she was still around and doing okay.

I wonder how they communicated to each other to meet up back there.

Pip - West 3rd Street Antenna Late July

A couple of weeks ago in the early evening at Washington Square, I encountered Bruce from the Urban Hawks Blog and Heather from Roger_Paw blog, who were there with a group seeking Bobby and youngster Pip along Washington Square North. They informed me that the two hawks had begun splitting their time between Washington Square and Union Square. I had mixed feelings about that (feeling a bit, uh, territorial?) but this would appear to give the pigeons and squirrels at Washington Square (and mice and rats, should they be there too) some breathing room.

As for Pip’s gender, I’ve always thought of Pip as a boy but then one of the hawk blogs stated very definitively that Pip is a girl. I started referring to Pip as ‘she’ thinking this was confirmed. According to Andy Newman at the Times (in the comments at Thursday’s post), it is the “consensus” that Pip is a girl but it is not verified. A Times‘ commenter wrote that boy hawks are usually smaller than girl hawks and she thought, based on the young hawk’s size, that Pip is a boy. This sounds plausible. Thus far, I’ve noticed a lot of things expressed about the hawks as fact end up being entirely wrong or else these downtown hawks are going against the ‘norm.’ (Which would also make sense, right?)

Earlier this summer, Pip had been taking advantage of the area that’s fenced off and under construction (Southwestern end of the park). Since that section (Phase II-B) is not scheduled to be completed any day soon (more on that later), somebody should be enjoying it! Of course, then there’s still Phase III construction to come — for which bids to complete the work are allegedly due August 17th.

Pip will have access to the soon to be recreated Mounds (moved from Phase II to Phase III) before anyone else! This final phase of Washington Square Park construction probably won’t start until next year, I’d imagine, but we’ll see.

Photo: Redtail 10025

Previously on WSP Blog: Violet, Bobby and Pip

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by cathryn on August 15, 2011  •  Permalink
Posted in phase III, violet and bobby
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Posted by cathryn on August 15, 2011

https://washingtonsquarepark.wordpress.com/2011/08/15/mama-hawk-violet-returns-to-washington-square-visits-the-nest-with-bobby-bobby-and-pip-splitting-time-between-wsp-and-union-square/

Squirrel Meet Hawk

Violet or Bobby? Probably Not Pip

Bird's Eye View?

That’s a squirrel box in the Park (erected by the Parks Department) and, yes, there’s a squirrel in there! Who, apparently, survived — at least, that day.

Last week, I posted commenter Drew’s thoughts as to how to help the Washington Square Park squirrels. He wrote:

I entered WSP again today shortly after 2pm and immediately came upon one of the hawks, just west of the arch. The hawk was sitting directly on top of one of the squirrel houses. Just inside the squirrel house was one terrified occupant. The hawk sat there for quite some time, at least 20 minutes, before finally flying off.

It seems like the squirrels are easy pickings for the hawks. Perhaps the Parks Department might consider a modification of the squirrel houses (to make the tops less like attractive as a perch) and/or a relocation of some of the houses.

The hawks are a sight to behold – but it would be a shame to lose the playful squirrels that have been a fixture of the park for, well, ever.

The hawks are going to eat squirrels or rats or pigeons but we don’t have to make it quite so easy! It seems like modifying the top of the boxes would be the easier thing to do and contemplating better locations.

Roger_Paw Blog has been documenting newest Red-tailed Hawk Pip’s exploration of Washington Square Park with some amazing footage. Pip is still being assisted with food from parents Bobby and Violet and Bobby is still looking out for her around the Park.

One of the hawk blogs said, within a few days of fledging (leaving the nest), Pip would be on her own and she might not make it if she didn’t figure how to survive quickly. But, like a lot I’ve read about the hawks that seems to be stated as fact and then seems to be a bit off, she is still acting like a young bird who needs her parents.

Pip isn’t quite in killing mode yet it seems. Here is footage of Pip taunting and being taunted by the squirrels. If this was Bobby or Violet tho’, this would not be the case!

More on Violet, Bobby and Pip on WSP Blog.

Previous WSP Blog Post: With 3 Hawks in the hood, Can we give the Washington Square Park squirrels a little assistance?

Photo: Drew O.

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by cathryn on July 19, 2011  •  Permalink
Posted in violet and bobby, wildlife
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Posted by cathryn on July 19, 2011

https://washingtonsquarepark.wordpress.com/2011/07/19/squirrel-meet-hawk/