Wednesday, May 14, 2008

Nest Hits the Road, Isolde Attacks Again, Pale Male and Lola, and Turkey Parts


Built by first time parents, the Riverside nest was always precarious with it's position out on a branch and over a road. Andrea Barnes sent this email about discovering the nest had fallen from the tree on Tuesday May 13th.

Donna,

I just wanted everyone to know that when I went to walk my dogs in Riverside Park earlier today, I saw that the hawks nest had fallen out of the tree. There was a sign that said the nest had come down at 10:45 and the dead babies had been taken to Audubon for testing. Poor parents, it is just one thing after another for them. One of the hawks was sitting in a tree not far way. I think it was the mother. Will the parents stay in the park after all the trouble?

Sincerely,
Andrea Barnes

Andrea,
This pair looks to be well bonded, and they have carved out a prey rich territory. They fed three eyasses and it seems likely that they will maintain their hold on their chunk of Manhattan. As to where they will choose to nest, whether in the same tree as this year, another tree in the park, or on a building is impossible to predict. They have their own criteria and we hope that this season's experiences will refine their choices.

And we also hope that if their eyasses were poisoned, that humans will refine their choices as well.

Isolde fears for her young


James O'Brian http://yojimbot.blogspot.com/ reports that once again today, workers passed too closely to Isolde and Norman's nest at the Cathedral Church of St. John the Divine, which we believe has eyasses in it, and Isolde once again attempted to drive them away and protect her young.



And a report from the New York Daily News--



Hawkishness on rise in city
BY KATHLEEN LUCADAMO DAILY NEWS STAFF WRITER
Wednesday, May 14th 2008, 4:00 AM
Feathers flew furiously in the city Tuesday during a flurry of avian incidents involving red-tailed hawks.

In one, a red-tailed hawk protecting a nest of chicks at the Cathedral Church of St. John the Divine on the upper West Side attacked two construction workers at the church, according to New York City Audubon Executive Director Glenn Phillips.
The workers weren't wearing hardhats and were taken to the emergency room of nearby St. Luke's Hospital, the Audubon reported. A call to the cathedral for details was not immediately returned.

In another bird brouhaha, a preliminary autopsy of a red-tailed hawk chick found dead in Riverside Park this week revealed a cause of death consistent with rat poisoning. Its two siblings likely suffered the same fate, according to Audubon.
Experts speculate the hawks brought a poisoned rat to the nest and fed it to the chicks, said Phillips.
And if that wasn't enough, Pale Male and Lola, the city's most beloved red-tails, fled their upper East Side nest days ago, a definitive sign that they didn't hatch any chicks this season, Phillips said.
"It's been a bad month for red-tails in the city," he said.


Yes, as we know, Pale Male and Lola have left their Fifth Avenue nest for the season and will now take a well deserved rest. Hunting when they like, bathing, preening, or sitting with a foot tucked watching the world from their favorite perch of the day.


That is until next year when they will once again begin to bring twigs to their nest and court in beautiful circles in the sky.

To answer the question that many have asked me, as to whether Pale Male and Lola's eggs are to be retrieved this year, I've looked into it, and as far as I can find out, there are no plans so far for their eggs to be removed from the nest for more advanced testing than in previous years.

And now at least a tiny respite from all the bitter news--
TURKEYS-- BUT NEVER A FULL VIEW


7:11:27PM My, my, it's a back. Glad to see some section of turkey after all this time, but this portion isn't really the most interesting segment of the bird.


7:13:37PM Ah ha! A tail unfurls and then I see the top of a turkey head, undoubtedly peering at me through the grass. Poof! They're gone.

7:14:10PM Yikes, finally a head pops up and then pops back down. They really do that. I mean pop their heads up and down like a video game.
Please give that head a good look! I'm sorry, wild Turkeys just don't look real. Evolution really is a stunner.
Donegal Browne

2 comments:

Anonymous said...

You probably know by now that Lincoln reports on his web site that he later was able to retrieve the other two passed away eyasses and the fallen nest and a partly eaten pigeon in it and has taken everything to Dr. Stone for analysis.

Donegal Browne said...

Karen Anne,

Yes, thanks. But you're right, it should go up on the main page.