The-First-Fledge-Off-The-Thompkins-Square-Park-Nest-Goes-Down-an-Air-Shaft Saga. and Rock and Roll Raptor Loving Ranger Rob Saves the Day

    Photo by Francois Portmann http://www.fotoportmann.com/birds

24 hours before Christo and Dora's first fledge took the big leap.  He's strutting his stuff flap hopping like a maniac.

June 23, 10:49AM  The first fledge of the Thompkins Square Park Nest takes the big step off the nest and glides over to the buildings on 9th Street and out of sight.

Time passes and hawkwatchers wait for a visual sighting, the sound of begging, anything...Nothing.  They begin asking people if they've seen the young hawk.  Also nothing.

More neighborhood folks begin to search as well.  What is going on?

A little after 6PM a relentlessly searching resident of  9th Street discovered that the young hawk was down an air shaft between two buildings.

Trapped Hawk?  Time for Ranger Rob!  

According to his Facebook page, at 6:15 Park Ranger Rob Mastrianni was in Brooklyn giving guitar lessons.  By 6:30 Rob had cancelled his last student and was heading for 9th Street to institute a rescue.

   

                  Photo by Francois Portmann http://www.fotoportmann.com/birds

At 2:21 PM, Monday,  I recieved a jubilant email from Francois Portmann, long time watcher of hawks in Thompkins Square Park and lest we forget the creator of the gorgeous layout of  Snowy Owl photos  published in Audubon Magazine not so long ago.

  Francois wrote-1st fledge...is  now in the park, up in trees, after being trapped in an air shaft between buildings in the East Village for almost a day following his first flight.
Big ups to Ranger Rob!

Big ups to Ranger Rob indeed!!!

Rob reports that 1st fledge was in good shape and in perfect feather so immediately was taken to a tree in Thompkins Square park...at which point  parents Christo and Dora were on the scene overseeing the situation so no need to  worry about 1st Fledge's after fledge care and feeding.

(This youngster is thought to be male and it seems to me that most if not all young hawks I know of  who end up in air shafts are boys.  Why?  Are they just the right size, females being ever so slightly larger?) 

Happy Hawking!!!
Donegal Browne    (This is the second post of the day, therefore scroll down to see the first.)

FLASH!!! Fledging Imminent at Thompkins Square Park!!!

   

Photo by Francois Portmann   http://www.fotoportmann.com/birds

If you've not seen a fledgling come off the nest for the first time,  it is one of the most exciting moments in hawkwatching bar none.

Francois Portmann,  chief watcher and creator of  the above view says that fledging is imminent at Thompkins.  So if I were you I'd be down at Thompkins Square Park participating in the vigil waiting for the big moment. 

Besides the fact that as this is a new nest it is unknown how successful a spot it is for fledglings to get where they need to go, i.e. the park and not the street bristling with traffic.

Another reason to be there.  It has happened that a fledgling came down into city traffic and had to be rescued and placed in a safe green space by a vigilant hawkwatcher.

For those new to the "fledgling pick up", it is the feet you need to go for first as they  are a fledgling's or really any hawk's automatic weapon.  In an emergency, grab the fledglings ankles with one hand (Don't be timid, JUST DO IT.) and use the other hand to hold them close to your body until you get them to safety.  

HAPPY HAWKING!!!

DONEGAL BROWNE 

Thompkins Square Park Update!

Photo by Francois Portmann  http://www.fotoportmann.com/birds

Suddenly, as hopping and flapping has now begun,  this nest has begun to look remarkably small to hold everyone.

This is the second post of the day, so scroll down for fledging news!

D.B.

FLASH!!! Saturday: Thompkins Square Third Eyass Hatching!

Photos by Francois Portmann  http://www.fotoportmann.com/birds

Mom feeds the elder two eyasses while the third wiggles from her shell.  Note the full complement of rats Dad has brought just in case everyone is super hungry.

Also note the focus of the two eyasses being fed.  No problem with attention deficit there!

Happy Hawking!
D.B.

Francois Portmann Catches a Feeding at Sheep Meadow! Plus the Decorah Eagle Mom and Eaglets And Quicksilver the African Grey Parrot

Photograph by Francois Portmann  http://www.fotoportmann.com/birds

Fabulous pro photographer Francois Portmann caught a feeding at Sheep Meadow nest in Central Park on Tuesday.

Hawkwatchers report that all is going well for these younger parents with the nest very close to that of Pale Male and Octavia.

By the way, I've reloaded the pipping photo from yesterday. (Next post down) I hope it is now visible to all readers.  For some obscure reason I could see it on my computer but some others could not.

The Decorah Eagle Cam

The Eaglets are restless, Mom checks, they settle down and she dozes.

Mom wakes and preens.

A noise.  Head up and around.  Mom peers into the darkness.  Many birds have the innate ability to be aware and functioning using one side of their brain  while the other side of the brain sleeps.  Works well for nest guarding Moms.

Then she tucks her head for a more complete sleep.
http://www.ustream.tv/decoraheagles

After many days of constant vigilance guarding various cavities around the house, Silver has calmed to the point he can't help himself, he naps.
Happy Hawking!
Donegal Browne

Francois Portmann's Thompson's Square Park Red-tails Report plus What Other Formel Does Octavia Look Like?

Photograph courtesy of Francois Portmann  http://www.fotoportmann.com/birds
                               Sunday Morning

Just in from Francois Portmann, a  gorgeous shot of the Thompkin's Square Park Red-tails. 
(I just love it when the tiercel stares fixedly at the eggs.)

Francois reports that the female is on the left.  And as a field mark for Dora, take note that one of her center tail feathers is so pale as to be almost white.

Chris is on the right,  is smaller of course, and lighter colored.  In comparison to the formel, at least in this shot, he looks like he might be one of the quick males like Pale Male or Pale Male Jr.

 Francois reports:

There is a  storm right now in the tri-state, heavy rain, wind gusts in the 30+ knots and dropping to freezing temp overnite, tough time on the nest... 
Greetings.
Francois

 Keep your fingers crossed for them and for all the other nesting birds as well.  For those who have nests near by, you may want to check in on them tomorrow morning just in case someone needs help.  It sounds like the kind of night where gusts could cause a building collision and a possible broken wing.

 Photo courtesy of palemale.com/
Do you think that Octavia looks similar in some ways to another formel in NYC?  Not so much her coloring perhaps but her head structure and, well ....her eyes in particular.


Happy Hawking!
Donegal Browne

New York City Hawkwatcher and Photographer Francois Portmann Hits Audubon Magazine and He's a Smash! Plus Sandhill Crane Antics

Photograph by Francois Portmann  http://fotoportmann.com/birds/

For those of you who have neglected going over to the Link Referral column on the right, and clicking on Francois Portmann's Photographs, you  have been missing some absolutely spectacular work.

And now Francois  has the feature photo spread in  the March-April issue of Audubon Magazine and he is brilliant.

Photograph by Francois Portmann  http://fotoportmann.com/birds/

See what I mean?  

 Exactly!  

And it isn't just his proficiency with a camera, which of course he has, it is catching the bird moment as well as, in this spread's case the juxtaposition of  Breezy Point, the urban environment across the way, and birds from the Arctic.   It's art in a major way.

 So go ahead.  Check it out.  We'll wait.

Click on Francois's link first--  http://fotoportmann.com/birds/,  and then click on the link to Audubon Magazine where you'll get a sort of multi-media version of his photographs in the spread when you click on Gallery.

If for some reason that doesn't work for you, here is the link for the magazine and the article by Scott Wiedenthal.  Once you get there scroll down the article a couple paragraphs and click on "Gallery, more images of snowy owls..."
http://www.audubonmagazine.org/articles/birds/so-many-snowies-study-scientists-are-discovering-how-little-we-know-about-bird 

Honest, we really will wait for you to get back.  It's worth it.  Trust me.

Remember Emily and Alfred, the Sandhill Cranes featured on yesterday's blog?  

(I know, I know, they weren't Emily and Alfred yesterday, but suddenly today I know their names.... my whimsy must have clicked in.  What can I tell you?) 

Well if you look particularly at Alfred, the crane in the rear, also look at his rear.   Instead of being completely gray back there as all the field guides tell you he should be, he has rusty brown feathers on his back and also the lower part of his neck.  This is quite common.

Hmmm.  Why might that be?

Wait.

Next check out Emily's beak.  After you left her yesterday, she leaned down and foraged around just into the water in the mud.  See the glob of mud sticking to the tip of her beak?

The mud will be relevant in a minute.

The reason that many Sandhills have this rusty brown tinge on some of their feathers is because their feathers  have actual rust on them.

How did they get rust on themselves?  You might well ask as they aren't prone to snuggling with old rust bucket cars in scrap yards.

Well, in any number of places in which Sandhill Cranes spend their time, the soil has iron oxide in it.  Therefore they forage around, get some mud stuck on their beaks like Emily and then preen...Ta Da!  Rust colored feathers.

And their feathers will remain that color until they molt out and new ones come in.  Who knew?

And speaking of odd tidbits about Sandhill Cranes, the next one is in relation to Canada Geese.

You'll remember how Emily turned around and appeared to be yelling at the Goose who was so close to her?

There are Canada Geese who are imprinted on Sandhill Cranes because they were raised by Sandhill Cranes and therefore want Sandhill Cranes for mates.  (Not the case here as eventually that goose went off with another goose.  More likely the geese were having some kind of territorial issue.)

At any rate, how do geese end up imprinting on Cranes in the first place?

Well you might ask.  

For whatever obscure reason, every now and again a goose will lay an egg in a Crane nest.  This would happen after the Crane nest had been built but was unattended as no crane eggs had yet been laid.  

The Cranes are off doing Crane business,  a goose passes by the empty nest and lays an egg in it.  The Cranes come back, and don't seem to be bothered by this as they brood the goose egg along with their own after they lay them and also parent the gosling.

Precocial young like goslings, imprint on their parents directly after hatching, and if the "parent" happens to be a Sandhill Crane, they grow up learning to dance and attempting to seduce Sandhill Crane colts into being their mates, as well as migrating with flocks of Sandhills.

Fascinating isn't it? 

Now go watch some birds, you just never know what you might see.

Donegal Browne

 

Copulation Location Criteria, and Span of Time Plus Where do ducks "do it"?

 
 Photo courtesy http://www.palemale.com/

Pale Male and Octavia copulate on a favored light fixture on The Essex.  No matter the mate, she often chooses that particular spot to present herself to Pale Male.

Which gets me thinking about Red-tailed Hawk criteria.  They definitely have criteria for nest building as we've discussed before.

What would be the criteria for the spots chosen for copulation?

I would think that having the hawks protected from the rear might be advantageous.  In this case by the building.

But the male would still need a route to fly to the female without any undue obstructions.

Though the female will perch at the ready in a place with a somewhat obscured view, I would  think part of the male's responsibility would be to make sure there were no intruders to which they would be vulnerable for the limited time Red-tail copulation lasts.

Digression Alert!  

"Treading", to use the archaic term,  in the avian specie we most regularly see, is rapid by mammal standards-- often less than 15 seconds. 

This makes evolutionary sense as the pair isn't at their most alert against possible attack during these interludes.  They are vulnerable during copulation.

Why is it then, in African Grey Parrots for example, copulation between pairs can last comparable periods of time to that in humans?    

What is the evolutionary advantage in lengthy copulation for some species and not in others? 

I would posit in some species it has to do with building stronger pair bonds. 

Hawks go through a lengthy courtship which tests their abilities of flight and of hunting acuity.  The coordinated moves of courtship give them time to learn the physical cues their partner displays in flight and changes in flight patterns which will be very important in coordinating defense of the nest later on.

And as only the pair holds the territory they must be ready at any given moment to hold that territory.  They can't be off spooning when a concerted attack to take over the nest site occurs. 

What characteristics do humans and African Greys have in common?  

Both species have a tendency to live near their own kind.  Therefore there are other cooperating members of the species who will be "holding the fort" while the pair is entranced with each other for lengthier periods of time?

Both species are intelligent and can talk.  Could bonding in both species be linked in some ways to finding pair synchronicity through speech and coordinated movement during lengthy copulation? 

My,  my, my.

More thoughts on that later... 

In the meantime....what about DUCKS?

Photo courtesy of Francois Portmann   Mallard Copulation
 Of course, ducks do it in the water. 
 
Amazing wildlife photographer Francois Portmann took stunning photographs of Central Park waterfowl in February. 

 Do check them out.  
You will be very glad you did.

http://www.fotoportmann.com/birds/

Donegal Browne

Rosie Of Washington Square Park's Scabby Eyelids

 A photo by Francois Portmann, http://www.fotoportmann.com/birds/ of Rosie of Washington Square Park.  I took the liberty of cropping it  so you could see what wildlife rehabilitator Bobby Horvath is addressing in his email printed below.  
                       (My apologies to Francois.)

Hi Donna,

I blew the pictures up . There appears to be crusty growths on the eyelid. Possibly pox virus but cannot say for sure. I know its been going on for months so its a slow progressing condition whatever it is.

Its only affecting the one side right now I see . It doesn't look like it has any affect on the vision in that eye yet. Only time will tell if it eventually ceases or continues to grow and become an issue on that side.   

Do watchers observe her scratching it at all like it bothers her ?

There's really nothing that can be done without having her in hand to get a scraping for testing and diagnosis. Even then she would need to be contained for a period for probable antibiotic/medication treatment once it is determined what it is.

Now is obviously not a good time for this to be considered and hopefully if it gets worse it  will hold off long enough till her to fulfill her necessary duties during this breeding season .

Thank you Bobby  for taking a look.  I don’t think you’ll get any argument from anyone on that recommendation.

As whatever the malady may be, as you say it has been going on for awhile without appearing to  affect Rosie’s vision or handicap her in any way, that her duties as a Mom during breeding season,  trumps scabby eyelids on an eye that works just fine every time.

And do write in the comments section as per Bobby Horvath's request or click on the "contact me" button to report any scratching or other behavior that might suggest that Rosie is dealing with any symptoms caused by  the "scabby eyelids" of her right eye.

Now,  run do not walk to Francois' site to see his spectacular photos of the spectacular Rosie protecting her dinner from a brown-tail in Tompkins Square Park.  She is one hot hawk! http://www.fotoportmann.com/birds/

Also James O'Brien over at The Origin of the Species Blog has some gorgeous pictures of the Divine Isolde of  The Cathedral Church of St. John the Divine.  

Some good hawk news for a change.  

Isolde and Norman appear to be doing just dandy so far this season.   http://yojimbot.blogspot.com/

Happy Hawking!
Donegal Browne 

Francois Portmann's Snowy Owl and Crows in NYC, Lincoln Speaks with the NY Daily News, a Pale Male Update and Frisky the Opossum

Photo by Francois Portmann

http://www.fotoportmann.com/birds/2012/02/29/snowy-owl-crows/

Photo by Francois Portmann

http://www.fotoportmann.com/birds/2012/02/29/snowy-owl-crows/

 A Snowy Owl (Nyctea scandiaca) is harassed by a trio of local Crows on a stretch of coastal dunes within city limits. Ultimately, she didn’t seem too concerned about the 15 min episode and settled for the day. F. P.

I do wonder if the parties concerned are up on the other species language and after doing their required scolding duty then came to some kind of understanding.

And Francois isn't just using the pronoun "she" as a  raptor courtesy to Queen Elizabeth I,  male Snowy Owls are more uniformly white than the females.


Do click on Francois' link to see the rest of the Crow vs Snowy Owl sequence and much more gorgeous bird photography besides.
http://www.fotoportmann.com/birds/2012/02/29/snowy-owl-crows/

And from longtime hawkwatcher Kat Herzog, who has spent many an hour observing from the Hawk Bench at the Model Boat Pond in Central Park, a Pale Male Update--
 

I heard about the sightings of more hawks than Pale and the new female but I'm not sure about that.  I've seen him with the new Hawk.  She is following him everywhere but though they are flying in circles together - the do not have their legs down and they have not been seen mating.

(Dropped talons during courting flights are a precursor to copulation in Red-tailed Hawks. D.B.)

The New Girl and Pale have gone to the nest - separately and together....bringing budding twigs.  We shall see.  I'm sure Pale will start fulfilling his destiny and start mating soon....unless he is "playing the field" and looking for the best female around.  The new female has a red tail but a lot of yellow in her iris....but she is quite adamantly courting him.  She following him and he staying at arms (wings?) length.  And, so, a new melodrama begins.....

Indeed it does Kat.

 I believe that when Pale Male does make his choice, she will be his sixth mate.

NEXT UP-- LINCOLN KARIM TELL HIS SIDE OF THE STORY TO THE NY DAILY NEWS

 
 Photographer Lincoln Karim’s feathers ruffled by arrest after death of Pale Male's hawk girlfriend

The photographer who has obsessively chronicled celebrity hawk Pale Male is squawking over his arrest by state wildlife officials.

Lincoln Karim says he was just trying to get state Department of Environmental Conservation officers to take the body of Lima, Pale Male's mate, when he was collared in Central Park Monday night.
Karim said he was held for more than six hours in the Central Park Precinct stationhouse after being arrested by a DEC police officer.

Karim had collected Lima’s body in Central Park on Sunday.

 MORE...

 

And another related story from International Business Times--

http://www.ibtimes.com/articles/306277/20120228/pale-male-lima-dead-hawk.htm

Frisky, the new Opossum in town.

 

 On the 28th Pyewackit the house cat went running to the patio door and ducked under the curtain for a look.  When I turned on the back light expecting one or both of the Bird Bath Cats, what should I find but a new Opossum in the neighborhood.  This one far more active than Fluffy who had previously been frequenting the feeding floor.  Fluffy is a large, tough looking Opossum who takes his time and isn't above snarling so I  get a look at his many sharp teeth if he catches a glimpse of me.  Needless to say I don't intrude on his personal space in any way. 

 

 When I attempted to ease the glass door open so I could  use the flash to get a sharper photo of Frisky, Opossums are notoriously hard of hearing, she looked up and trotted briskly around the corner of the house.  No teeth baring in this case,  which was nice.

 

As you have no doubt gathered from previous blogs, the negative behavior of Wisconsin animals upon seeing me approach compared with those in  NYC was beginning  to give me a complex.

Donegal Browne

Has Dominatrix of Tompkins Square Park Moved in with Bobby of Washinton Square Park?

Photo by Francois Portmann
http://www.fotoportmann.com/birds/

The only hawk that I knew who was so human habituated that she'd go about her business within a few feet of humans on a regular basis, no matter who the humans were, was four year old Dominatrix of Tompkins Square Park, seen above.

That is until the new female appeared who has taken up with Bobby over at Washington Square and displayed the same sort of behavior.

Interesting.

Then a few days ago professional photographer and hawkwatcher Francois Portmann asked me to compare the physical characteristics of Dominatrix and Bobby's New Girl.

I did. Hmmm.

Even more interesting.

Photo by Francois Portmann
http://www.fotoportmann.com/birds/
This is Dominatrix of Tompkins Square Park. She is as far as I know the darkest Red-tailed Hawk of name in Manhattan. Somewhat of a rarity in the Eastern United States as the population tends towards a paler hawk.

She also has a very heavy belly band that extends rather far down her sides beneath her wings and it also peaks down in the center onto her lower belly.

Her pale parts tend toward the creamy rather than bright white and she also does not have the white patch on her neck beneath her beak that many Red-tails have on the East Coast. The area is slightly lighter than her head but definitely not the usual contrasting area we often see here.

Also check out her mantle. That's the extension of her head color down over the sides of her shoulders and the top portion of her breast. Hers is quite long. In fact a number of hawks around the area don't really have much in the way of a mantle; their head color stops near the bottom of their necks.

(Isolde up at the Cathedral Nest of St. John the Divine has a distinctive mantle.)

Photo courtesy of roger_paw
New Girl who was seen checking the nest with Bobby in Washington Square Park.

I was going to call this hawk Bobby's new mate but having had the recent experience of Pale Male and his revolving females early last season, we probably shouldn't technically call her Bobby's new mate until courting and copulation occur. So I'll stick with the New Girl.

Check the New Girl's mantle, the belly band, and the other details observed as characteristics of Dominatrix.

That's it. Compare each characteristic. Keep looking.

What do you think?

Early on Francois brought to my attention Dominatrix's feet. Compare them with New Girl's feet and tarsi.

Taking into account the difference in light on the days the photos were taken, the feather coloration looks remarkably similar. As does the belly band pattern, long on the sides and peaked down at center, the saturation saturation, eye color (same age), mantle length, feet, tarsi, under beak patch...

Photo by Francois Portmann
http://www.fotoportmann.com/birds/
Back to Dominatrix again.

Look at the slope of her skull, the proportion of beak length to skull, depth of brow, and the light patches which constitute her "back pack straps".

And how about that attitude?

Photo courtesy of roger_paw
Bobby's New Girl hunting in Washington Square Park.

Compare the characteristics of Dominatrix just observed above with this photo.

I know. They do look alike don't they?

And Tompkins Square Park and Washington Square Park are 8 crosstown blocks (of irregular width) from each other.

See Google Maps Move the map east of Washington Square Park to find Tompkins.

Not far at all is it?

Those who have been watching the New York City hawks over time have found it initially rather remarkable that if a female in a bonded pair is lost hard on breeding season that another female will be seen
with the male almost instantaneously.

The commonly accepted explanation for this is that there are unbonded hawks who are waiting near by with an eye on a pairs prey deep territory and likely even more important in New York City- their well proven nest site.

Last but not least, take into account the very similar and remarkable human habituation factor seen in the female observed in Tompkins Square Park and the female observed in Washington Square Park.

It is really quite out of the ordinary.

Are Dominatrix and Bobby's New Girl the same hawk?

WHAT DO YOU THINK?

Donegal Browne

Eagle's Nest Part 1a, Sandhill Cranes, Whoopers as Non-essential, Francois Portmann's Jamaica Bay Wildfowl, Franklin Red-tail Update

Somehow or other these two eagle photographs were left off in the sequence.

They belong at 5:09:10pm-

and 5:10:01pm

Now back to our regularly scheduled programming. I'm walking down the lane toward the eagle's nest when the Sandhill Crane pair who perennially nest in the marsh take umbrage to my presence.

The Sandhill Cranes come at me out of the sun.

5:55:16pm They are such fine birds. Determined birds. Birds of angles but also supreme grace. (Note how white they look in this light.)


4:55:19pm They observe me and...

4:55:21pm ...then both trumpet mightily and continue to do so.


4:55:31 Off you go to Part 1b if you've not been there already.

SPEAKING OF SANDHILL CRANES AND OTHER WATERFOWL, AN EMAIL FROM FRANCOIS PORTMANN WITH GORGEOUS SHOTS OF JAMAICA BAY in migration AND A PETITION TO RECONSIDER THE HUNTING OF SANDHILL CRANES IN THE EASTERN FLYWAY....THE WHOOPERS THERE ARE CONSIDERED NONESSENTIAL. WHAT????

SIGN THE PETITION!!!!

Hey Donna,
You've got some action going over there in cheezland!
If you're interested, here is some links re: Sandhill Crane hunting:
http://10000birds.com/tennessee-crane-hunt-tabled-for-2-years.htm
And this one about 4 Whoopings shot:
http://10000birds.com/the-nonessential-whooping-crane.htm

Here, migrations are going full speed with loads of snow geese and ducks,
good times at JBay:
http://www.fotoportmann.com/birdblog/2011/03/17/geese-ducks-migrations-jbay-
nyc/

Greetings,
francois

(Check out the photo of the cranes at 5:55:16pm above. Those Sandhills look almost white, much like Whoopers look in various lights. Hmmm. D.B.)

And from Robin of Illinois, the third egg appears for the Franklin Pair, and a wonderful essay on why the formel might not be all that hot to be sitting around on the nest yet, by hawk expert John Blakeman!

http://sunnydixie.blogspot.com/

Donegal Browne

Red-tail Hawk Update--The Thompkins Square Brown-tails

Photograph by Francois Portmann www.fotoportmann.com/

Photographer and Hawkwatcher Francois Portmann, managed to find and photograph both the Thompkins Square Park Brown-tails.


Photograph by Francois Portmann

Francois believes the hawk with the heavy belly band, above and in the next three photographs is a female.
Photograph by Francois Portmann

He reports that she's larger than the other bird. On a previous sighting this bird was perched in the park while the other, who seems fond of pigeon hunting, flew over. She called to him.

Photograph by Francois Portmann


She looks to be quite a dark bird, rather like Charlotte or Norman. Who, where many hawks are cream or white, these birds are more beige.


Photograph by Francois Portmann

Though as she's caught a rat, perhaps part of the dark effect may have to do with the time of day.

Photograph by Francois Portmann


This bird, Francois reports, is smaller than the first and likely a tiercel.


Photograph by Francois Portmann


True to his penchant for flushing pigeons, he does it again.


Photograph by Francois Portmann


To the railing he goes, with something in his crop already. He stares up, perhaps deciding how best to get one of those pigeons.


Photograph by Francois Portmann

I love this photograph. His posture makes him look like he is levitating in the way Rudolph Nuryev did during a leap. Though this guy does it as easily as breathing. Note the size of his toes and "ankle". Compare them with the Formel's in the photo of her that is fourth from the top.


I hope to see much more of these two.





RED-TAIL HUNTING IN THE SNOW





James Blank who has contributed Turkey and Hawk photographs to the blog, unfortunately saw an interesting Red-tail incident the other day when he didn't have his camera with him. (Let that be a lesson to all of us.)





After the latest snowstorm save one, Mr. Blank saw a mature Red-tail sitting in a tree overlooking an open area quite near where a crew was taking a jackhammer to frozen ground, looking for some cable or other. Red-tails being very patient when they feel they have the prospect of a good thing, sat there for some time. Then suddenly the hawk swooped out of the tree and toward the ground to make a grab. Her talons went down, there was a great puff of snow, the talons came up empty, she then did a three or four contact hopping motion and finally came up with a good sized rodent for her lunch. Which she flew away with to eat in peace.



An experienced hawk, she no doubt knew that excavation equipment tends to send rodents out of their burrows and was waiting for that to happen. But on that day, there was quite a number of inches of snow on the ground so did the rodent appear above the snow so the hawk could see it and then catch it? Or can hawks as owls do, listen for prey under snow and then make sightless grabs through that snow?

I'll ask John Blakeman.

Donegal Browne

P.S. Mr. Portmann wrote that he did see a downtown hawk collect a London Plane fruit. The fruits of the London Plane are about half the size of a Sycamore fruit but also have the fluff inside them. No more details on this as yet but I've asked.