Valkyrie of Tompkins Square and the Dickey Bird

Valkyrie by Francois Portmann, www.fotoportmann.com
Val seems to be doing her I'm invisible stance.
Francois says:
The young hawkess keeps cracking me up, she is such a character and basically owns the park! Here she is testing the water for a bath under NYPD watchful eye but the snow melt is too shallow!


Photograph by Francois Portmann
Unfortunately, Tompkins Square Park does not have a source of water in the park and we know there are many birds there who would like it!

Valkyrie must really want a bath to try for one in ice water! Red-tails do love a good slosh when available.

Photos and question from Rhode Island's Karen Anne Kolling--

Hi,

Another what's that bird, from me, the hapless beginner :-) I am thinking a Blue-gray Gnatcatcher? That's a weather-beaten pyracantha, for scale. This is a bigger bird than the tiny ones that hang out in the bushes, and (I think) bigger than a sparrow, but not by much, certainly not as big as a dove,


Well....the Blue-gray Gnatcatcher has a slender white eye ring which I'm not seeing in the photograph, though this guy does remand me a little of a miniature Mockingbird with a cocked tail, which the Gnatcatcher would. On the other hand if it is a touch bigger, say 6 1/2 to 7 inches with those possible wing bars, we'd be talking an Eastern Wood Pewee. Though the back should likely be darker.

Hmmmmm.

D.B.