Susan Kirby

Three Babies During a Pandemic, 2020

Christo and Amelia nested early and hatched three delightful eyasses in May 2020. Because of the COVID-19 pandemic, I didn’t get to see them until May 26, 2020. This slideshow shows Christo, two of the babies, and Amelia on May 26.

Joy and Sorrow at Tompkins Square Park, 2018

Christo and Amelia (see below for the story of poor Dora) had two young hatchlings this year, and both fledged. Unfortunately, one of the fledglings had to be picked up in the park and taken to WINORR, where the youngster died of secondary rat poisoning. But one kid remains, and I spent time watching the young hawk on August 9.

Drama in Tompkins Square Park

When Dora, the resident female red-tailed hawk in Tompkins Square Park, went to rehab at WINORR in November for a wing injury, Christo seemed a bit lost, not knowing where she was. He eventually took up with another adult female and was courting her and mating with her. Dora returned to the park after rehab at the end of February, and after a rocky start, she regained her nest and her mate, and they have been mating regularly and building the nest. For a fantastic history of the drama, see Laura Goggin's blog.

I visited the park on March 24 to check out the pair, and then visited again on April 2. When we arrived on the 2nd, Dora had just been in a fight with another adult red-tailed hawk (apparently not the female Christo had been mating with, nor Christo himself, but a new hawk who had been in the nest). Dora won the fight, but seemed very shocky afterward. We saw her on a low branch near the dog run, and we watched as Christo came in to mate with her, and then as she flew in short bursts from tree to tree before going into the nest. She mated at least two more times, and Christo fed her.

Dora was picked up in Tompkins Square Park on April 4 and returned to rehab at WINORR. There is a possibility Christo already has a new female in the nest, for he was seen mating with another female hawk while Dora was in the car. There is concern that if Christo and the new female have eggs and bond over them, Dora will be forced out if she is returned to the park.

The Chasing the Hawks video was filmed March 24 and April 2. You can see the injury to her wing.

Uptown Nest, Downtown Nest

Both the Tompkins Square Park pair (Dora and Christo) and the Fifth Avenue pair (Pale Male and Octavia) have successfully brooded and hatched new eyasses in 2017. I put together a video celebrating both pairs, filmed from March 10 through April 18. The Tompkins Square Park pair was filmed on April 10. The video can be seen on the Tompkins Square Park video gallery. I've included two photos below.

Binge-Watching the Tompkins Square Hawks

I've put the videos of the Tompkin Square red-tailed hawk family (Dora and Christo and their three youngsters) in a gallery, so you can watch hours of the hawks when the weather gets too cold outside to chase the hawks in the park.

A Hawk, a Stick and a Couple of Leaves

July 24, 2016, was a great day in T.S.P., with one youngster cooling off in the sprayers, one in a tree and some fun times with sticks and leaves, the best toys ever if you're a young red-tailed hawk.

The day is documented in Part IX of the July With the Tompkins Square Hawks series. And there were quite a few fun photos.

Recent Photos, and Another Video

Here's Part V of the July With the Tompkins Square Hawks series, covering my visit to the park on July 14, and some photos from my recent blog posting about rat poison.

These photos are from July 27, 2

Splish, Splash!

Chasing hawks has many, many rewards. One of the most exciting experiences is to see young red-tailed hawks cooling off in the water. I've done a couple of videos already, and here's another. This is Part VIII of the July With the Tompkins Square Park Hawks series. I'm jumping from Part IV to Part VIII, because July 22 was such a great day for watching the babies and a parent. I'll give you Parts V, VI and VII soon.

The afternoon started out with one baby hawk finding some leftover pigeon on a branch on the east side of the park. We watched the kid for a while, until the youngster flew north. We then found two youngsters (not sure if one was the same one we just had, or the two other kids) in the play area north of the bathrooms. At first they were in trees looking down on the spray, but the day was very, very hot, and the water way too enticing. Down they came! The people were really great, allowing the hawks their time in the water without disturbing them.

Lest you think the kids had no adult supervision, Christo was sitting in the bird bath nearby, keeping an eye on the children. (I think it was Christo. If Dora, let me know!) When the kids flew to a nearby fence, Christo flew to a tree over the water. One of the kids flew over and dislodged him, and he flew south (maybe to another water park?). The kids stayed for a while, drying off.

Some photos from the day, including shots from the baby who found the leftover pigeon.

More TSP hawks, this one from July 1.

July With the Tompkins Square Hawks

I've been putting together a number of videos of the five red-tailed hawks that call TSP home. Following are the first four, from July 1, 2, 8 and 10.

The following photos are from July 1, 2016. I will add more photos from July 2, 8 and 10 later, plus other July photos as I take them.The first photo below is from a little garden just east of the park. The fence is decorated with art made from found objects. I chased the hawks down the street. When I lost the hawks, I stopped to take this photo. 

Fun on the Ground at Tompkins Square Park

The three red-tailed hawk fledglings at Tompkins Square Park have provided many hours of joy as they play on the ground and have family dinner with Dora and Christo, their parents. I spent June 15, 18, 19 and 23 at the park and took lots of video and photos.

I did two videos about the Tompkins Square Hawks, one showing family dinner, and the other showing one of the fledglings hopping around on the ground.

Lots of photos from the four trips to TSP. The first photo is of Dora, who can also be seen on the cross and in the nest still feeding one of the kids.

Tompkins Square Park: A Nest With a View

Christo and Dora, the Tompkins Square Park red-tailed hawks, have three little babies high above the park in a tree close to Avenue B. I visited them May 28, with the photos below. The video covers visits to the nest on April 25, May 5, May 22 and May 28, 2016.

Christo is in the first photo, Dora is mantling the kids from the sun, then goes to church.

A note: Laura Goggin has a terrific blog about this hawk family.