Taking A Dip

  • 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)

2 thoughts on “Taking A Dip

  1. 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!)

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