If a squirrel is on top of a branch, it can escape in nearly any direction. The squirrels are masters of maneuvering through the trees and they are not easy prey for the hawks. Even seeing that one of its kindred was caught, this squirrel still challenges the hawk. If the squirrel is upside-down, you have to look at it upside-down! (2017)Ĭhristo (2014) - if you look closely, you can see the feet of another squirrel sticking out below Christo on the right. As the hawks and squirrels all co-exist in the same small area of the park, I imagine they are all familiar with each other and, as Christo is a top-notch hunter, you can bet the squirrels don't like him at all.Īnother fledgling hawk faces off with a squirrel in 2017: This is Christo staring down a squirrel in 2018. Diving into the archives, I found this photo of a fledgling hawk checking out a squirrel in 2018: Hawk-squirrel confrontations are nothing new in Tompkins Square, as we've been observing them over the last several years. The youngsters seem to go for the most difficult prey first, like the squirrels and large rats, and eventually settle for things they can manage like smaller rats and mice. We've seen fledglings in the past struggle to lift and carry off heavy prey, like this hawk who barely managed to clear a fence with a big rat and drag it down Avenue B in 2014. To accomplish this, the young hawks have been practicing with inanimate objects like this substantial branch (below). Christo is smaller than Dora, Amelia is larger than Dora, and the fledglings appear to be somewhere in between.įor the hawks to catch and carry a squirrel means lifting almost half their body weight, which takes strength. For reference, Dora weighed 3.15 lbs when she was picked up by WINORR back in April 2018. The hawks weigh anywhere from 1.5 to 3.5 lbs. The original paper can be found here.Īdult squirrels weigh 400-600 grams, or just over a pound. They come in a variety of colors (gray, blonde, dark brown, two-tone brown), and I recently found this interesting study that explains that some of them have black coats due to inbreeding with Fox Squirrels, who range across the southeastern US. The squirrels we have here in the city are Eastern Gray Squirrels. The hawk never takes its eyes off the squirrel. Does it know the hawk can't catch it (yet)? The squirrel seemed confident enough to turn its back on the hawk. While this was happening, one of the other fledglings was directly above in a tree with another squirrel. From this very low perch about two feet off the ground, the hawk could see all the squirrels running around under the bushes, and this squirrel definitely did not like the hawk sitting there in its territory. I watched this scene for about 30 minutes as the squirrel kept approaching the hawk, running away, then approaching again. On a recent morning, one of the fledglings was being much more patient, allowing a bold squirrel to get very close. Most confrontations end with the hawk giving up and leaving the tree. Predator warning, but in Tompkins Square Park, the hawks are the onlyĪbout six weeks ago, dad Christo showed his kids how to catch a squirrel, and they've been trying ever since, but the squirrels have been too quick and wily, easily escaping the young hawks. I don't know if it specifically means "hawk" or is a general Several other sounds, but this one is specific to the danger of a You are almost guaranteed to find a hawk nearby. That is a squirrel alerting to the presence of a hawk. If you're walking through the park and hear this alarm call, What these photos do not convey is the sound the squirrel was making. The young hawks are obviously interested in this squirrel, and I love seeing how they study its every move. As I see it, the squirrels own the trees and the hawks merely borrow them from time to time. The squirrels are extremely territorial and will confront the hawks when they land in their tree. The tree, however, was already occupied by a squirrel, who was not happy to see these two on its property. Below, two of the three hawk siblings met up in a tree on the center lawn on a recent morning. This raptor-rodent interaction has been on display recently as the fledgling hawks are learning to hunt prey. In fact, the squirrels are more likely to come away victorious in a hawk-squirrel showdown. The two species interact frequently, and one might think the hawk would always win an argument, but that's not necessarily the case. I've been observing red-tailed hawks in Tompkins Square Park for well over a decade now and one thing that continues to fascinate me is their relationship with the resident squirrels.
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