A Hunter in the Ramble

There was a lot of hawk action on January 18. Part 6 of Hawky New Year! shows a first-year red-tailed hawk at Bethesda Fountain, then another young hawk hunting a squirrel near the rustic shelter in the Ramble. The hawk was flying around us as we fed the birds, and eventually swooped down right by me as it grabbed the squirrel. It ate half on the ground, then flew to a tree near the Oven and finished off the rest. There was also a Cooper's hawk in a tree over the Oven.

Young red-tailed hawk in the Ramble, Jan. 18, 2017

The alertness of the red-tailed hawk as he ate has been noticed with all the young first-year hawks we've been seeing with their prey. It's one thing to catch the dinner, another thing to eat it without having it stolen by another hawk.

There is some graphic hawk dining in this video.

The first two photographs are of the young hawk at Bethesda Fountain. The next photos are of the young red-tailed hawk who caught the squirrel. The last photo is of the Cooper's hawk above the Oven.

Flitter-Flutterers

I don't usually think of October as a time for butterflies, but this October has been quite wonderful to see all sorts of them. I offer here two flutterbys: a monarch and a buckeye, with videos and photos.

Shakespeare Garden in Central Park is a wonderful place to look for butterflies. There is often great sunlight, and lots of milkweed to attract the monarchs. I saw a perfect monarch butterfly on Oct. 12 — no rips in the wings, or any other damage to this gorgeous flitterer.

Monarch butterfly (Danaus plexippus), Shakespeare Garden, Oct. 12, 2016

The video is set to the second half of Dance of the Hours by Ponchielli (the first half was used in the buckeye butterfly video). If you haven't seen the prequel to this monarch video, check out Monarch Wannabes.

On October 7, I got to photograph a buckeye butterfly (Junonia coenia Hübner) at Conservatory Garden in Central  Park.

Common buckeye, Conservatory Garden, Oct. 7, 2016

I am in the process of a much longer video, to be included in my Contemplate This series of videos. My effort in this series is to create videos that you can put on your computer when you want to relax, and just watch relaxing, soothing images set to nice music. A couple are in the works, and my butterfly video will feature quite a variety of butterflies over four years.

The Hawk Himself, and a Young Gull: Two New Videos

On July 17, I visited Governor's Island for the first time. I've already written about the young common terns we found there, and posted a video. Now I offer a new video of a young herring gull, set to waltzes by Frédéric Chopin, 

This young bird was such a joy to watch, as was the supervising parent. 

I found Pale Male in the Ramble on Sept. 9 and 10, the first day in the late afternoon over the chip path north of Azalea Pond, and the second day in the early afternoon just south of Azalea. I put together a video for the two days, hoping to show Pale Male's zen side. On Sept. 9 I was able to get eye level with him by climbing on a rock to be even with the branch he was on. It was thrilling to be that close, and to get closeup video of him.

On Sept. 9, the day I was eye level with Pale Male, I didn't have the best light for photographs. The video shows him off much better.

Pale Male just north of Azalea Pond, Sept. 9, 2016, from the chip path.

These photos have been lightened to try to show his eyes. The first of the four was taken from below; the other three I took from the rock.

Sept. 10, I found Pale Male south of Azalea Pond on my way through the park before the Yankees game. I watched him for about a half hour, then headed off to the Pond. My friends came to watch him, and reported later in the day that he had spent the afternoon there until he caught a mouse and at it in the Gill (the stream west of Azalea Pond). The little squirrel came down the tree, then remembered Pale Male was right above him. He froze, cried, then finally escaped back up the tree. Pale Male didn't pay too much attention to him.