Sunday, January 16, 2011

A new hawk in town?



BaHa noted the following yesterday ...

"I watched a hawk sailing overhead (as I have done quite frequently in the general area of Whole Foods lately), until it swooped downward with no small amount of grace, landing on the water tower atop 18 2nd Ave. It was still there 30 or so minutes later. I suspect that is is not one of the Tompkins Square Park hawks, but perhaps one staking out new territory."

16 comments:

Lisa said...

Excellent. The more hawks the merrier. Unless yr a pigeon, of course.

Anonymous said...

YES!!! Probably the SAME hawk was the one I saw about four times today swooping in the air outside my building on Allen Street (between Stanton & Rivington). All the pigeons were going crazy when it was flying around.

I even texted my neighbor to be on the lookout. I videotaped it but am too lazy to cut the video and upload it to my YouTube channel right now. :) If I do, I'll post the link!
-H

Melanie said...

Nice!

HippieChick said...

What a gorgeous creature. Maybe he or she will bring friends, and they could make a buffet of those damn pigeon swarms on 9th and 1st, who still roost on the building under construction...

Anonymous said...

Why don't the people who live at Christadora House build a nest on top of their building like the people uptown did for pale male.

Cheap bastards!

Anonymous said...

I saw it over Broadway and Great Jones St. a couple of days ago.

blue glass said...

those pigeons on 9th street are amazing, some days there are some resting on every boarded up window ledge.
they always do it when i do not have my camera. when i have the camera there are only a few.

maybe that's the answer. always carry a camera when going down 9th street 1-2.

BaHa said...

@Blue Grass: What's the best camera for the shot? The one you left home.
(Lucked out with the hawk, though. Packing the superzoom.)

Anonymous said...

Today I watched a rather clumsy attempted mid-air catch over Ave A @ 4: 30 - the pigeon got away (seen hopping around wounded and/or scared by Doc Holidays and no, dear animal lovers, I did not attempt to nurse it, I trusted the Universe would send you along behind me to fulfill that destiny) - but the hunter looked almost matched in size from my angle. Wasn't the hawk that ended up being rescued in the airshaft a young one? The bird in the picture has what looks like a little downey fluff.
I wouldn't know one hawk from another but I think of OUR red-tailed hawk in Tompkins as mature - we have been watching her (him?) for several years.
Where are our local ornithologists when you need them? Gone the way of the mom and pops?

Anonymous said...

Hey, guys so I wrote earlier that I'd post a link to the footage I took of the hawk today and here it is!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5sxCmxZ5CoI

Hope the footage isn't too horrible. :)

The music I put on the video is the ending of the song "Koala Sprint" by Midnight Oil.
-H

BaHa said...

@Anon 10:12. That was incredible. Can't believe how quickly you regained focus as the hawk swooped and dove. Very, very well done!!!

Anonymous said...

Thanks, BaHa!! I'm glad you liked it. I saw Mr. Hawk again today but didn't get good footage. Looks like he/she is a solid neighbor now. Yay!
-H

HippieChick said...

Is the TSquare hawk the one who hopped into the now-defunct Birdie's (ha!) chicken restaurant on 1st and 9th, where This Little Piggy now is, and started chowing tdown?

The photos in the Daily News piece about the event were amazing. There's the hawk, up on the table, inspecting fried-chicken detritus and occasionally glancing out the window...incredible. In the EV, even raptors do takeout...

BaHa said...

@HippieChick: Link, please?

Bowery Boy said...

I read on Curbed that Pale Mael's partner is gone. I wonder if this is her. Amicable divorce, or did he boot her out, or is she on the lamb (and not the 20lb'er)?

Lisa said...

@BaHa:

http://www.nydailynews.com/ny_local/2009/06/20/2009-06-20_hey_pal_dont_hawk_my_lunch.html