Immature Red-tailed Hawk, bathing at Schenley Park, August 2012 (by Gregg Diskin)
We’ve all seen robins splashing in water but how many of us have seen a hawk take a bath?
Last Saturday it was already hot when Gregg Diskin took a walk through Schenley Park with his camera. Near Bartlett Playground he saw a hawk disappear under the bridge so he walked down the path to investigate. There he found an immature red-tailed hawk taking a dip in the stream.
Bathing is a relatively vulnerable activity so we rarely see adult hawks doing it. My hunch is that this bird was one of the two immature red-tails who starred in Monday’s blog. He had almost no fear of people, felt right at home, and continued to bathe while Gregg snapped a series of pictures.
Click on the photo above for a slideshow of the red-tail’s bath. At the end he has something to say to Gregg.
(photos by Gregg Diskin)
I think it’s saying … “A little privacy please!!!”
I saw an Osprey out here doing the same thing in a flooded yard. But I only had my phone on me, so the photos were really bad. But it was neat.
(I’ve also found some burrowing owls right across the street from my house!)