Saturday, March 24, 2007

Pale Male and Lola Back In Nest Rhythmn

Pale Male arrives at the nest Photographs G.S.
Many thanks to all the Hawk Watchers whose collected observations, have made this report possible from afar, including Katherine, John, Elizabeth, George, and Charmain.

3:55 Pale Male on nest left , Lola peeks out of bowl, Pale Male looks down at feet. Prey?


Lola rises from the bowl. Pale looks down at his feet, looks at her, scans territory.

3:59 Pale Male watches Lola go like a bullet towards the NW and the Ramble. He then walks over, situates himself in the bowl and completely disappears from sight. Not an eye or a feather visible.

Suddenly it's noticed that there is a hawk, nest right, or rather a hawk's fluffy bottom nest right, making little jerky motions. Eating? Did Pale get up for a snack? Did he bring food last trip which Lola flew off and ignored? Did Lola return without anyone noticing and Pale is still sitting on the eggs? As everyone missed it, the consensus on the bench is that it's Pale up for a snack. Except for Elizabeth who is betting it's Lola.

Lola it is. Elizabeth nailed it. Finished with dinner, Lola stands nest left, waits, looks into bowl. Then goes round the bowl, looks in, continues to nest right.

Lola turns, waits, looks around, waits, preens, waits, looks into bowl, waits for PM to get up, he doesn't. Napping?


Lola advances to bowl, waits, then head down, pause, pokes with beak. Pale Male begins to rise out of bowl.

4:21 Pale Male picks up pigeon remnants and takes them with him. Off on diagonal to NW.

4:22 Lola gets back in the bowl.

4:40 Lola up, turns eggs, preens, rouses, and down
4:51 Pale Male discovered on Oreo antenna.
5:30 Pale Male on Oreo antenna.
7:10 Pale Male swoops off Oreo in the direction of the Great Lawn.
Donegal Browne

2 comments:

Robert said...

4:21. Ooooh, gross. But at least PM took the garbage out.

Donegal Browne said...

To tell the truth, I hesitated about publishing that particular photo as it's quite vivid. My apologies if anyone was upset. (No, rbs, I know you're not one of them as you're an on-the-spot hawkwatcher. You've seen it before.)

Usually all one sees when the trash goes out is a raggedly lump. But as there were no other options for that particular field note,I went ahead.
For when it comes down to it, it is truthful. For all their beauty, majestic flight, and captivating behavior, raptors do live on flesh, as do many of us in part.

And a point of clarification, we're calling what Pale Male is holding in his beak, "the trash"; it might well be Pale Male's afternoon snack. Lola didn't eat the wings as she is prone to do later in the season, so there still might be a few tidbits left that Pale Male will eat at a different location.
Waste not, want not.