Tuesday, May 12, 2015

How to Get to Pale Male's Nest!


Pale Male lands on the 927 nest.

Jackie of Islip emailed me about an expected Pale Male Jaunt for her husband's birthday...


Hi!  
My husband is a big Pale Male fan, celebrating his birthday on 6.1.  I'd like to bring him into NYC for his birthday to see Pale Male...where exactly is his perch, or the bench you all sit at taking photos?

Jackie
Islip, LI





Hi Jacqueline,

Grand you are coming for a visit!

Pale Male and Octavia's nest is located on the top center decorative cornice on 927 Fifth Avenue. 
 
 927 is between East 72nd and 73rd streets.  Fifth Avenue is one way... running South/Downtown

As you know, the best view is from the "hawk bench"....
 
 which is on the far side (west) of the Model Boat Pond.  
 
The Pond is  often notated as the Conservatory Waters (or Pond) on most Central Park Maps...the Conservatory itself was never built. 

The Bench is just a few steps East of the Hans Christian Anderson statue. 
 Hans appears to be reading a story to a goose.   This time of year there are many  hawk and bird watchers in Central Park  so if you get confused just ask someone with binoculars or a scope as most if not all of these people will be able to get you back on track or point out the nest for you.

Here's a link of a map of Central Park that doesn't have too much clutter. 


If you enter the park from the East on 72nd it is pretty straight forward as you can see the Model Boat Pond from Fifth Avenue.  If you come into the park from the West, the easiest is to walk the 72nd Street transverse.  (There is a very handy Subway Station at 72nd Street below The Dakota.) You'll enter the park at Strawberry Fields, walk through, check out the Imagine mosaic...
  and keep walking. You will eventually see the Lake on your left.   Once you are past Bethesda Fountain,
 
 then past the statue of the Medieval Falconer on the right slope,
 
 you will come to a road which curves left off of the transverse. Though the bend to the left could well be part of the transverse it isn't.  You want to leave the transverse at this point and curve left. Very soon it abuts a "road", cross that thoroughfare, often populated with bikers and runners and a police car or two.  As you look east you will have Pilgrim hill on your right and to the left a bit, The Boat House.  Look down the slope in front of you and you will see the Model Boat Pond/Conservatory Waters down the hill.

And as is very common in Central Park, if confused about how to get where you want to go,  just ask someone who looks like they might know where they are going.  

I'm landing back in NYC this coming Wednesday, so I might just run into you on your birthday jaunt.  If all is going well, Pale Male's  eyasses will  be visible and quite lively by 6/01.

Happy Hawking,
Donegal Browne