The Hawks of NYC
Hello Metroblogging NYC! Some of you may know me from my comments here or my blog Velvet Sea; although I usually comment as Velvet Sea, my name is actually J$ (sometimes pronounced as J-Money but technically the correct way to say it would be to say “J” while holding a dollar bill).
Believe it or not, New York City is really good place to see birds. I’m not just talking about pigeons here. Central Park and Prospect Park are prime birding spots and even amateurs casually strolling through are able to see many different varieties. NYC is home to a large population of red tail hawks and winter is probably the best time to see them as the trees are bare.
Today, while walking through Prospect Park (first decent snowfall of the season!!!!) I saw one of the hugest red tail hawks I’ve ever come across. It was at least the size of a football. Normally they are perched very high up in the treetops but this one was just sitting on a branch across a path:
I was able to get extremely close to it although I did not walk directly underneath it- partly out of fear of getting attacked (it is a bird of prey after all) and partly out of fear of getting pooped on. Hawks eat pigeons and mice, so I don’t even want to think about the latter possibility.
I’ve also seen red tail hawks near the boat pond and the ravine in Central Park and they can frequently be spotted soaring high above any wooded areas on the city. New York’s most famous red tail is Pale Male. So keep your eye in the sky and you might catch a glimpse of a red tail hawk yourself.
Related posts:
That’s hella cool. Up here in Pelham Bay, I see TONS AND TONS of geese. And turkey fowl. They crap a lot but are beautiful.
so cool! i’ve always wanted to go bird watching in central park.
great pics too.
There are three adult pairs of red-tails hunting in Central Park. Palemale and Lola have the middle area and are the ones you would have seen around the Ramble. There’s another pair nesting on the Trump Parc on CP South and who claim pretty much the area south of 72nd St. The ones up around the Ravine and who claim the north end of the park have their nest on the Cathedral of St. John.
Maulleigh, If you’re in the Pelham Bay area, keep your eyes open. There are supposed to be two pairs of red-tails nesting in that area. One pair nested on the golf course last year. There is supposed to be another to the south around City Island.
My family saw 3 Redtails alternately perching and flying about on 109th St between Amsterdam and Broadway this morning. They were perching on the PS in the middle of the block.
By the time we had to leave one had flown west towards the river (up very high) and the other 2 were still hannging out near the school.
I wonder if they came from the Cathedral or were just “passing through”.