Here's a brief narrative, pieced together from several eyewitness accounts. (The first batch of photos are by Steven.)
Hawk watchers spotted who they presumed to be Christo in the nest that he has been fortifying for Dora. However, it turned out to be an intruder, another red-tailed hawk who was unfamiliar to the Park regulars. (The other hawk wasn't Barucha/Nora/Not-Dora.)
That's when the fight started. One eyewitness said that the intruding hawk was the aggressor...
By all accounts, Dora, on top in the above photos, kicked the intruder's ass (paraphrasing). The intruder fled. Red-tailed hawks are very territorial, and the sight of an intruder in her nest, where there may be eggs, likely angered Dora.
After the skirmish, Dora struggled to take off ... Ranger Rob (aka Rob Mastrianni, a Manhattan Ranger supervisor and East Village resident) was eventually summoned to the Park. He thought that Dora would be fine, especially as she started to fly.
She eventually made it into a tree, where Christo brought her a rat...
... and later in the day, Dora appeared to be doing OK...
And a few other photos of Dora today ... via Ryan John Lee...
... and from Garrett Rosso...
H/T Emma Haddad!
6 comments:
I was worried there for a sec in that last photo of Dora. This has become quite a NY story.
I missed it by 3 hours but that looks crazy. #hawkrager
Thank you once again, EVG, for your most excellent and ongoing coverage of the Tompkins Square Hawks (with super photographs from Steven and other sharp-eyed observers). As always, there's further chronicling over at Laura Goggin Photography: http://www.gogginphotography.com/
Dora is the queen of her domain! She takes no crap. I had her in rehab for 3 months and she was the toughest, strongest most fierce hawk I've ever had. No matter what she always comes out on top!!
A true East Villager, tough, resilient, a survivor. You go, fierce girl!
I was there when the fight took place. I have to say, it was epic. I don't mean cool, I mean it was like watching two pre-historic creatures battle it out.
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