Thursday, January 12, 2012

Battle Royale

There's been quite a heady mix of hungry hawks and falcons this "Winter."
Drawn by the abundance of pigeons and starlings that collect in big flocks along Morningside Ave., many hungry raptors pass through this area daily.

It started off with this adult male Cooper's being bombed by crows.

After being surveyed for a bit, the skittish group quickly scattered for cover...as did the Cooper's!

The Riverside poppa was clearing out his turf.

I was more than surprised to see this juvy peregrine shadowing him.

The peregrines moved east and began to harass a juvy Redtailed on the Adam Clayton Powell State Office building.

The falcons eventually stooped on some pigeons along Madison Ave., and the Cooper's promptly re-appeared. As it setup on the flock across the street, the juvy RTH snuck in and rousted the pigeons.


The Cooper's was none-too-pleased about it and chased the RTH out of the area.

It then circled around for another pass,

coming so close I could hear its wing beats,

and the vacuum of silence that followed in its wake.

Tuesday, January 10, 2012