After witnessing the Hunter in action on Friday evening I had the privilege to meet a few members of an avid birdwatching group that studies the hawks and other birds that inhabit the parks of New York City and Central park in particular. They told me that the immediate area where I saw him is generally the only area where this young hawk is allowed to hunt. The reason is that he is a juvenile hawk only about 4 months old and the older hawks in the area have confined him to the small area between the Bethesda Fountain and the Mall area of Central Park. If he strays from that area at all the older hawks will quickly chase him back. So on Sunday afternoon I headed for the park at about 5pm because I know that hawks normally hunt in the late afternoon/early evening hours. When I arrived at the park I made a beeline straight for the Mall which is a tree lined area near the Bandshell in the park. For about 20 minutes I walked around camera at the ready, focusing on the trees and the sky above them hoping to catch a glimpse of him. Even though it was an overcast day and the park was crowded it didn't take too long for me to spot him perched in a tree on a hill overlooking the mall area.
He stood on a branch intently staring out at a crowd of people that where watching street performers dance, tell jokes and do flips for money. He seemed mesmerized by the crowd and the music. So while he stared at them, I stared at him waiting for him to move. Suddenly in a flash he was gone! He darted from the tree so fast I couldn't even get a shot of him! In what felt like less than a second He had plunged into the bushes at the bottom of the hill. It was then that I realized he wasn't watching the people at all, he was watching his prey in the bushes. As the bushes thrashed back and forth I worked my way down the hill to get a closer look. After about 5 or 6 seconds the Hunter rose up out of the bushes talons empty and flew into a nearby tree. As you can see in the slideshow below I tired to track him but he flew so fast I couldn't shoot him in focus. The fact that he didn't catch his prey or that I didn't get a clear shot of him wasn't the biggest surprise though, the most surprising thing was that no one else had seen him!
He had actually flown about 4 feet off the ground through a crowd of people in a crowded city park and I was the only one who saw him!
After flying through and around the crowd the Hunter landed in a tree directly across from the Bandshell and I followed him there. He perched there for about 3 or 4 minutes just looking around and then swoosh! He was off again! This time he swooped down talons first into a flock of pigeons eating off of the ground. The pigeons scattered and he grabbed one of them in midair ! After grabbing the pigeon he took him to a nearby tree. The pigeon was frantically flapping his wings so I think the Hunter stopped in the tree just to get a better grip on him.
After about 30 seconds the Hunter took flight again and unlike the first time this time he had his prey and also unlike the first time I was ready! I ran down the hill, got into position and tracked him as he once again flew about 4 feet off the ground this time with a full grown black pigeon in tow. And just like the time before no one actually saw him but me. it was all pretty incredible. a bird with a wingspan of almost 4 feet was flying low with another bird hanging under it and no one else noticed. (take a look at the guy in the jersey below watching me as the hawk zooms right past him!)
After flying the equivalent of a city block the Hunter took his prey to a tree at the very edge of the Mall area. I excitedly ran behind him and once I got to the tree I was amazed to find that there was another dead pigeon already there!
It seems that the Hunter had killed it earlier that day but had never eaten it. By this time people had seen me running through the park towards the tree and pretty soon a fairly large crowd had gathered around the grass where the tree stood watching the pigeon struggle for his life. According to the Birdwatchers the fact that the Hunter had more than one kill on the tree was very unusual because Hawks, especially young ones without babies are not known to stockpile food.
The consensus among them was that because this hawk is young and confined to a small area he doesn't only hunt to feed, it seems he hunts simply because he likes it and has become good at it. Sort of like a teenager who likes to dance so he dances every chance he gets. The whole experience was very interesting exciting and kind of grisly. But unlike the kill on Friday this time the Hunter didn't let his prey linger and fight. This time he ended the pigeon quickly. (The slideshow below is a bit graphic so if you are squeamish you should skip past it.)
The only thing that kept the scene from getting even more gruesome was the fact that the pigeon fell off the tree branch and onto the ground below before he could finish plucking its feathers off. After his kill fell the Hunter just perched on the branch for a while and looked back at us looking at him.
It was like once the pigeon hit the ground he didn't care anymore I was told that the size of crowd was the only reason he didn't retrieve his kill. But dont get me wrong the Hunter displayed absolutely no fear of people. Hawks and other Birds of Prey are part of a group called Apex Predators and have no instinctual fear of any other living thing because they are at the top of the food chain. Which means that aside from random man made accidents and other large birds preying on them as nestlings they are devoid of predators and can survive in almost any environment. After watching this young hawk hunt at 4 months old I can see why. They are perfect killing machines and every part of them is made to do just that. Their speed and power is impressive, their eyesight is keen and their beaks and talons are razor sharp. But surprisingly they are beautiful as well.
The Birdwatchers told me that by winter time he will eventually leave the park and as he matures his feathers will change colors. When he is about 3 years old he will find a mate and claim his own hunting ground. He might even come back and take over this park. That would be kind of cool. I've had the good fortune to have photographed other Red-Tailed Hawks in some of the parks around the city but these are the closest and most interesting shots I've taken. There are many people utterly devoted to filming photographing and cataloging the lives of these hawks and now I can see exactly why they are so devoted and enthralled by these interesting creatures.
I'm just glad that my camera and I had a weekend where we crossed paths with...
The Hunter