Nature red in tooth and claw: Fledgling news--7/29/07

One of Beth Bergman's graphic photos

Hi,

Jr. and Charlotte's baby, the wayward baby who fledged to 55th street, is now catching its own food. She was at the Baseball field area being dive- bombed by robins. Then she set them right and stole one of their nestlings. I saw it with my own eyes, no adult hawks around. It was a perfect meal, because she didn't have to pull out feathers. She ate every bit, head and all. And then no sooner had she polished off that meal she went and caught a second baby robins and ate every bit of that too. The first baby was eaten while sitting on the baseball field fence. The second baby got eaten on the ground. A second birder witnessed this with me. The pictures stand as evidence. Glorious day.

Beth Bergman