Neither more nor less

What with the precious , politically correct , effete , perverse,rediculous and boring civilization that has taken over the East Village these days its hard to believe that a common and primative hunter/ killer like Buteo Jamaicensis can find a place to live , hunt and kill in Tompkins Square Park .

This is a juvenile Red Tailed Hawk and its fully grown at perhaps 9 months though it does not yet possess the signature red tail ...that will take at least another season... if it survives that long . This youngster will have a hard time learning its killing trade . Just learning to fly with skill is still a while off for this individual. Flying , hunting and killing are skills that are learned slowly and if not learned and mastered this hawk will die .

Juvenile Red Tails have in the past commonly spent the late fall and early winter in Tompkins Square park but last year there were for the first time in a long time no young hawks visiting the park .Why this is the case is not clear but at least this year one of the young hawks is back .

Juveniles come to TSP in the fall because they are for one thing pushed out of their parents home territories by their parents . Along with other homeless young hawks and other mature migrating adult hawks that as yet have no mate and territory young hawks take up residence in city parks such as Tompkins Square Park for a short 3 months or so in the late fall and winter .In the early spring they leave and head north to find a mate and their own territory . They mate for life which can be 20 years or more ... and they kill everyday ...for life .