Inside The New York Botanical Garden

Morning Eye Candy: A Game of Hawk and Mouse

Posted in Around the Garden, Photography, Wildlife on January 6 2013, by Patricia Gonzalez

It was a lovely Tuesday morning with cloudless blue skies. I had about an hour and a half before my shift at the NYBG began, so I decided to try my luck spotting a young Red-tailed Hawk that I’d been photographing for weeks. I believe that this is one of the three hawks born earlier this year at the Fordham University nest. His mom is Rose, who I’ve been photographing since 2008. After walking the forest for about an hour, I exited near the Wetlands Trail, where I soon saw my friend. He tried his darnedest to take on a squirrel inside the twisted snag, which resulted in a hilarious game of hawk and mouse with the squirrel living to eat peanuts another day.

I also had an opportunity to shoot a little video of the pair in action, which you can see here.

Red-tailed Hawk

Photo by Patricia Gonzalez

Comments

Barbara Reiner said:

…wow, this is very interesting to watch especially because the squirrel scampered out of the way….

Johanna DeCourcy said:

Risky behavior, Mr. Squirrel. You’re not going to be able to get away with that much longer.