Astoria Predator
– photo by Mitch Waxman
Hawk at Astoria Park, Halloween day 2009. I believe it’s a Red Tail Hawk, but I’m not qualified to genotype the avian specie.
from wikipedia
The Red-tailed Hawk (Buteo jamaicensis) is a bird of prey, one of three species colloquially known in the United States as the “chickenhawk,” though it rarely preys on chickens. It breeds throughout most of North America, from western Alaska and northern Canada to as far south as Panama and the West Indies, and is one of the most common buteos in North America. Red-tailed Hawks can acclimate to all the biomes within its range. There are fourteen recognized subspecies, which vary in appearance and range. It is one of the largest members of the genus Buteo in North America, typically weighing from 690 to 1600 grams (1.5 to 3.5 pounds) and measuring 45–65 cm (18 to 26 in) in length, with a wingspan from 110 to 145 cm (43 to 57 in). The Red-tailed Hawk displays sexual dimorphism in size, with females averaging about 25% heavier than males.
According to sources in the ornithological community, two red tail hawks nest in the rafters of the Triborough Bridge. Accordingly with the Hellenic character of the neighborhood, these hawks are named Atlas and Athena. Perhaps this is one of them.
The bird people are all over this, check out urbanhawks, and nycgovparks.com has a neat overview on “The Atlantic Flyway”.
The Newtown Pentacle 
a couple of years ago I ran across a hawk and squirrel argument happening in a tree outside astoria houses. The people who were gathered watching explained to me that the squirrel had babies up there and she didn’t want that hawk around. The hawk did some flashy buzzing of the squirrel before flying off much to the delight of the kids around — “Man it’s like national geographic in the hood!” were their exact words. That was a good day.
mia
November 18, 2009 at 8:52 pm
[…] plethora of animal forms persists in this part of the river- diving cormorants are common, Birds of Prey are present as are riverine and littoral mammalia, and there are said to be other less well known […]
shocking coruscations « The Newtown Pentacle
November 30, 2010 at 3:17 pm