October 29, 2016
Birds of prey and man live in close proximity in a large number of cities. Philadelphia is no exception to this — as Peregrine Falcons nest on a ledge in City Hall and a family of Red-tailed Hawks live in the general vicinity of the Philadelphia Art Museum and Franklin Institute. This diary is focusing on the latter group.
The Daily Bucket is a regular feature of the Backyard Science group. It is a place to note any observations you have made of the world around you. Insects, weather, meteorites, climate, birds and/or flowers. All are worthy additions to the bucket. Please let us know what is going on around you in a comment. Include, as close as is comfortable for you, where you are located. Each note is a record that we can refer to in the future as we try to understand the patterns that are quietly unwinding around us.
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A female hawk has been nesting in the one area for a number of years. A nest on a ledge of the Franklin Institute even had a hawk-cam installed. And there are blog sites, such as Hawkwatch dedicated to following the goings on with this family of hawks. Therefore, any walk up around the Art Museum also includes a chance to see the hawks — though usually it’s at a distance since they are flying, or perched high in a tree or on a building.
On this occasion I was sitting on a bench in the Azalea Garden of Fairmount Park eating a snack. This is a grassy area lying between Kelly Drive and the Waterworks that is edged by trees, shrubs, and plant beds. A fairly quiet spot given the usual traffic on the nearby streets and along the Schuylkill River Trail that also passes nearby.
There were a number of other people in the garden; a recently married couple having photos taken; a family of five also taking photos; a man playing with a couple of children; and a slow stream of passersby just cutting across on the paved walkway. Mainly concerned with their own business and not watching what else is going on — which from my observation is pretty usual regarding the local wildlife. The people ignore or fail to see the creatures they share space with until one of them is suddenly in their face.
Across the garden from me there were 2-3 gray squirrels running amidst the azaleas and maples that grow along that edge. A flash of movement drew my attention there in time to see one frantically dodging around a tree trunk about three feet above the ground while a full-grown red-tailed hawk tried to catch it. Luckily for the squirrel the hawk missed. The hawk went and sat on a display sign about eight feet from the tree.
Since my camera was sitting right beside me I picked it up and started taking pictures. No one else in the garden noticed this at all.
A little bit later the hawk swooped across part of the garden and landed much closer to me and about ten feet from the sidewalk. I guess this was an attack (even though it did not seem like one) since right afterwards it started eating something. (My guess is rodent since I did not seen the hawk plucking feathers.)
At this point I switched lens (from a 18-55 to a 55-300). This next picture is from the same range as the previous one.
At this point the hawk went about taking bites and then looking about. At one point two people walked by on the sidewalk — and I heard one say “look at the hawk!” The hawk just watched them go by and went back to eating since they were fairly quiet.
A minute or two later a larger and noisier group came down the sidewalk. The hawk decided that was too much and left the spot to go perch low in a nearby oak tree until things quieted back down. That move was not noticed by anyone else but me, as I wandered over there and ended up with a couple of pictures of hawk butt.
All-in-all this seems like how I typically see the hawks and people here interact. Most of the time the majority of the people don’t even notice that the hawks are there — like when a busload of them debark at the museum while a hawk circles 30’ over their head. But sometimes the hawk is *there* and pretty much has to be noticed.
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Now It's Your Turn
What have you noted happening in your area or travels? As usual post your observations as well as their general location in the comments.