Hawks on a Jamaica fire escape, and then some

This week we got an email about some hawks hanging out on a Jamaica fire escape on a street off of Jamaica Avenue (GMAP). That’s them in the photo above. We pressed for more info and here is what we learned:

It was about 7 years ago. I thought it was a owl. Then, I look again and realized, it was hawk. Over the years, he came back. But, this year, he came with a mate.

I had heard about two hawks in Rufus King Park, on 153 Street & Jamaica Avenue. This was the first time I saw the two of them. They both arrive at the same time, on my firescape.  They both look healthy. I’m  not sure who the male is. I pick up my camera and shot. They stay for about two minutes. One of the hawks came last week. He flew up and stay for about 30 seconds. Why do they stop at my place? Is it because of pigeon & dove on my roof top?

Not surprising the hawks would like to chow down on some tasty pigeons and doves. Hawks are predatory birds, after all. Speaking of predatory, there’s this video. This hawk’s in Flushing and was pretty hungry, as you can see (if you are squeamish, maybe pass on this video, especially toward the end).

In western Queens, hawks have been a normal part of life in the Astoria Park area. They usually nest under the Triboro/RFK Bridge. The Urban Hawks folks visited the area last spring and took this video:

[youtube http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=K7cnLkV-sSY]

Gotta love all that wildlife in Queens.