Adult red-tailed hawk catches a rat in Tompkins Square

This is Christo, a wild adult red-tailed hawk (in summer molt). At the time this video was shot, he was about three years old. He lives in Tompkins Square Park where there is a lot of food: rats, pigeons, squirrels, mice and small birds. Christo prefers rats and this video shows him as he hunts for one.

The squirrels in the park are large, strong and fierce. They can defend themselves and often harass the hawks. Christo will go for small squirrels, but tends to avoid the larger ones, as shown in this video.

For those who have complained about the length, I have presented the video here in its entirety as it shows the hawk's complete hunting task. I was sitting on a bench when he landed on the fence a few seconds before the video starts. I stood some distance away to give him room to do his thing. We are fortunate and thrilled to have a wild hawk right here in our urban park.

A note about the squirrels - they are all Eastern Gray Squirrels, which come in different colors: gray, black, brown, orange and blonde. They are all the same species showing different fur color just as people have different hair color.

You can read more about the unique hawk-squirrel relationships in Tompkins Square Park here: http://www.gogginphotography.com/2020...

Tompkins Square Park
East Village, Manhattan, NYC
September 9, 2014

UPDATE - July 2022: Christo is still king of Tompkins Square Park and fledged three chicks with his mate, Amelia, this year. This brings him up to 23 offspring (plus one foster chick) since he began nesting in this neighborhood in 2014.

UPDATE - March 2025: I'm heartbroken to report Christo went missing in mid-February, 2025. After over 11 years as King Hawk in our neighborhood, he will forever be missed. You can read my tributes to him at the links below:
https://www.gogginphotography.com/202...
https://www.gogginphotography.com/202...