The bird watchers in Tompkins Square Park have nicknamed this female hawk The Dominatrix because of her power. Dennis Edge said that it was definitely her as he recognized her especially dark face and other marking, and her mannerisms and familiarity with the park.
Red Tail for sure.
She flew from place to place in the park with her prize, followed by a flock of my fellow hawkarazzi. But each spot she chose was an ideal photo opportunity. She knows how to please her fans.
She caught this pigeon on a tree branch, which is quite unusual and shows her skill. Red Tails usually catch their prey diving at it on the ground.
Feathers (and other grislier bits, I’ll spare you the photo) scattered everywhere, Dennis said soon to be utilized for nesting material for other birds.
Beautiful, from right below, notice the pigeon foot beneath her on the right.
Young Red Tail Hawk, a male, I know that because of its small size, the females are larger. It was on a low branch right on Avenue A and patiently posed for all photographs. It must have been well fed, as it ignored oblivious pigeons on the ground beneath.
A new red tail hawk in Tompkins Square Park, additional to the two first-year hawks that overwintered here. This is either mating behavior or just plain hostility. I was standing next to bird watcher Dennis Edge, learning tidbits like: the female hawks are larger and the younger hawks don’t have red tails. Sorry about the crappy resolution here, I had to digitally zoom on the footage.
One of the Red Tail hawks that frequent Tompkins Square Park appeared to pose for his or her admiring fans.
Hey you get off of my tree! The squirrels seem to employ the strategy of annoying the hawks until they go away. Hawkeye Laura Goggin got some great video of the action, below.
A crowd gathered today in Tompkins Square Park to watch this young hawk feed on a rat. A squirrel seemed to want to test his limits with this bird of prey. A young kid expresses his view that he doesn’t want to leave to go to the dog run, as he can see dogs anytime but this is different.
I’ve scouted the skies and tree limbs over Tompkins Square Park for years hoping to find a hawk. Finally, I was sitting on a bench today with Laura Goggins and her friend Ed and Ed pointer this one out, right above us. Laura, who is a font of information about the park and the neighborhood in general said she thinks this particular hawk is named the Dominatrix because of its dominating nature.
