Does Pale Male Recognize His 2012 Fledglings? And the Monarch of Central Park Still Knows How to Impress a Girl!

The two fledglings of Pale Male and Zena who were poisoned not long after this photograph was taken and are now back in Central Park.               Courtesy of  http://www.palemale.com/  

FROM ROBIN OF ILLINOIS REGARDING THE RELEASE OF THE FIFTH AVENUE FLEDGLINGS BACK TO CENTRAL PARK  AND THE POSSIBILITY OF PALE MALE RECOGNIZING THEM AND CONTINUING HIS TRAINING OF THE YOUNG HAWKS--

I'm thinking of the Franklin step-dad, stepping in as a stranger, to raise another male's young, contrary to everything we thought we knew about RTHs. 

PM's hormones may be waning, and that may signal to us that these young RTHs are now strangers to him, but he was seen flying overhead and watching. As you've said, and time has proven, as we are able to see more of the private lives of the hawks, never underestimate a red tail! 

Who knows?He may indeed still recognize them in some way, and pick up the training (and supplemental feeding) with his two surviving progeny. 

I was considering whether the two young'uns might stay in the Park, over-wintering there, with PM's help. Just because we haven't seen that kind of behavior before, doesn't mean it can't happen. Franklin's T2 is certainly testimony to that! 

I'm glad they painted the toenails and suspect that Rob will be keeping a careful and caring eye out, to see if they stay or leave. That was an excellent idea. WINORR is the BEST! And Rob is too.

And your blog is too! Thank you. 

Robin

Indeed, one must Never Underestimate a Red-tail!

But in this case I've a little snippet of past experience that makes me believe that Pale Male likely does recognize his previous progeny.

Back in 2005, I was watching the 927 Fifth Avenue Nest.  Lola was sitting on eggs and Pale Male had just dropped in  for a visit.  When suddenly, out of-- it seemed nowhere-- but likely from Madison the next Avenue beyond Fifth, a third Red-tail  appeared perched on the overhang directly over the nest and looked down at Pale Male and Lola.  Pale Male looked up and in a nanosecond he'd zipped up to the third Red-tail  and instead of bowling him right over backwards, Pale landed with a quick turn, less than a foot away from the new hawk, leaned over towards him and glared.  Third hawk, appeared to realize his transgression, looked utterly startled and hot winged it out of there.  Unexpectedly Pale Male didn't give chase.  He calmly floated down and landed on the nest again, as if nothing had happened. Not a whiff of the usual hot-pursuit-adrenalined-out-look hawks usually get in instances like these.  

Remember this was the time of year when the territorial boundaries are utterly rigid and no birds except perhaps some pigeons or a few dickey birds are allowed to loiter.  Even Gulls and Turkey Vultures learn to keep clear.  But in this case something was very different and after much thought as to "Why?", I began to think it was possible that the third hawk was one that Pale Male recognized and likely a youngster from the previous year who had come to check out the old homestead.

That said it does not necessarily follow that if Pale Male did recognize these two from the 2012 nest that he would necessarily pick up their training from where it was left off.   But then again, as Robin pointed out, T2 certainly surprised everyone didn't he?  

Though Pale Male may be a touch distracted at the moment with courting his now "New Girl", Octavia.  There are so many twigs and amorous flights and so little time.  

This of course does not keep the youngsters from watching Pale Male as he hunts.  Often the way adults teach techniques to their fledglings anyway.  

Though when the youngsters are six months younger the adult will make sure their attention has been taken from tussling with each other and killing rocks and twigs to the training at hand.  

At this point these two are old enough to pay attention on their own.  Therefore it may not be obvious that they are being trained but I believe their hawk eyes will be focused on the adult hawks in their environment.

And please God, no poisoned rats!

Photo courtesy of http://www.palemale.com/ 

Pale Male and Octavia in courtship flight.  See the hanging talons?
 

 That's right!  Plus it's never too early to nail down one's mate for the upcoming season. 

Donegal Browne

A HAWK SEASON OF DESPAIR- Four Gone in a Month

 Intrepid broods eggs.  Her three eyasses that season were accidentally poisoned on the nest by being fed a poisoned rat.

 Photo Donegal Browne

2011-Young Ginger Lima, recently deceased,  tends her eyasses fathered by Pale Male- photo courtesy of palemale.com

                
From Myisha Priest,  hawk watcher,  NYU professor,  and the host of a seminar that 

celebrated the wildlife of New York City --


                                    Donna,                                    
   I just read the news of Intrepid. Heartbroken. She was singular in her ability to persevere. Though I guess they all are, which is one of the reasons we love them. Remember when her beak was broken and she made it through the winter anyway?
  What a sad hawk season. Violet, Lima, the Southside hawk and now Intrepid. Yet they say that grief is the price we pay for love...
 I send wishes for peaceful rest for those who are gone, wishes for better times for those who are here, and kind thoughts to the hawks and the tender (and bruised) hearts of those who love them.

 Myisha your note is beautiful.  Thank you.  I am afraid that my heart, among many others, has been bruised very badly this time around.

There have been times of despair before for those who love and attempt to succor New York City's urban hawks but the last year, which includes the long drawn out travail of Violet due to  human failure, has been, I think, the darkest.

Though there is no proof and may never be, as the testing of the very common Red-tail Hawk for poison is low on the list of priorities for the financially strapped New York State Wildlife Pathology budget, the known evidence points to secondary poisoning as the cause of death in this  latest wave of unblemished beautifully feathered corpses.
 Poison is also arguably a possible vector in the disappearance of Pale Male's mate of many years, Lola.

Today I am at a loss as to what more we can do soon enough to help the now living survive.  For assuredly what we have done has not been enough to save those who are gone and my feeling is that only luck has allowed those who still live to continue their lives.

Education is slow.  Poison is fast.

If mature, city-savvy hawks such as Intrepid, and before her, Builder,  Athena, Hawkeye, Ginger Lima, and Lola to name a very few, have not found any clues to warn them away from the rats that killed them, there likely aren't any clues and the death toll will only continue. 

Can we find a strategy that works with the rapidity that poison does?   

Hawkeye of Fordham, mate of Rose and the father of many, many well fledged young died of poison.  Photo Donegal Browne

Photo Donegal Browne

Athena of the Triborough Bridge nest,  a mother for many seasons, died of  rodenticide secondary poisoning leaving a clutch of eggs.  Her mate Atlas attempted to hatch the eggs on his own, but with no one to hunt for him or spell him on the nest so he could leave to hunt and eat,  the eggs were sometimes unattended.  They never hatched.

 FROM NEW YORK MAGAZINE

Yet Another Red-Tailed Hawk Found Dead

• By Noreen Malone

It hasn’t been a good late winter for New York’s red-tailed hawk population. The first big news came when the first lady of New York’s hawks — Pale Male’s latest love interest — was found dead. Shortly thereafter, the body of another unidentified red-tailed hawk was found in Central Park. There was also a young hawk found dead in the park, which was mostly ignored outside of hawk watching circles.  But now, yet another  bird, this one a Riverside Park resident, has bitten the dust, bringing the recent death toll up to four.

 READ MORE

 Intrepid, Riverside Mom hunts.  Before she died, she had outlived a mate and three eyasses who had all died of poison.                                                      Photo Donegal Browne

EDUCATE AND ORGANIZE YOUR FRIENDS AND NEIGHBORS ABOUT SANITATION, RATS,  SECONDARY POISONING AND WHAT THEY CAN DO TO MAKE THINGS BETTER FOR THE RAPTORS IN THEIR NEIGHBORHOODS.

Thanks to Rachel Shriff for posting flyers about secondary poisoning and the dangers of second generation poisons in her Queens neighborhood.

In memory also of all the hawks unnamed, who have died of secondary poisoning and human negligence. 

Donegal Browne

Intrepid. the Riverside Mom is Dead-UPDATED

Photo by Donegal Browne

  Intrepid, the Riverside Mom was found dead beneath the tree in which her nest had been built.  There were no apparent injuries.

We called her Intrepid as her first nest, which eventually fell, was situated far out on a limb which bobbed dangerously in the wind and "out on limb" was where she as an urban hawk intrepidly attempted to live her life and where she lost it after loosing eyasses to poison, fledglings to speeding cars and her mate poisoned as well.

 We shall miss her courage, her beauty and her perseverance.
  
May she now rest, finally at peace.

Photo by Donegal Browne

Photo by Donegal Browne

Third hawk found dead in Manhattan park

All three hawks appeared to be healthy and uninjured

Comments (5)

By Lisa L. Colangelo / NEW YORK DAILY NEWS

Read more: http://www.nydailynews.com/new-york/hawk-found-dead-manhattan-park-article-1.1036630#ixzz1om5xewgB

For the third time in less than two weeks, a hawk has been found dead in a Manhattan park.
The female hawk, who had nested in Riverside Park for years, was found Friday under the tree where she nested. An Urban Park Ranger picked up the body about 12:30 p.m.
The discovery comes less than two weeks after the body of Pale Male's mate, Lima, was discovered in Central Park. Another hawk was found dead in a section of Central Park near Columbus Circle last Sunday.


"They all appeared to be healthy and didn't have any traumatic injuries," said Bobby Horvath, a wildlife rehabilitator. "It's not like they were hit by a car or crashed into a building."
Horvath said it’s too soon to know for sure if the birds ate a poisoned rat or where they could have picked it up.


"They birds aren't married to these parks, they hunt outside," he said. "High-rise buildings and restaurants still use poison."


Horvath said a fourth hawk was found stumbling in the northern part of Central Park several weeks ago. It died 24 hours later.


The state Department of Environmental Conservation is conducting tests on the dead birds to determine if they were felled by poison or something else.


Birdwatchers in Riverside Park have closely followed the female hawk, who had chicks every year.
"Every year there is a tragedy with this poor bird," said Horvath, who has helped care for the hawk and her offspring over the years. "One year there was storm, the nest blew out of a tree and three babies died and last year her mate was found dead by a Dumpster."

Read more: http://www.nydailynews.com/new-york/hawk-found-dead-manhattan-park-article-1.1036630#ixzz1olctxt20

A post script, whether Intrepid was poisoned or not, her mate and a number of her offspring have been.  Awhile back,  I was contacted by a maintenance person who works in a building adjacent to Riverside Park.  He told me that the building in which he is employed uses the second generation poison which the slightest ingested amount causes raptors to drop dead.  One bite of poisoned prey of this sort is more than enough.

 Intrepid's mate was found to have been poisoned by a compound which was not one being used in Riverside Park.  And assumption could be made that the rat which poisoned him had been poisoned by someone who laid poison in or directly around a building near to Riverside Park.


Hence not only must we be vigilant about poisons the parks may put down and stress sanitation but to find ways to educate those who live in the buildings of NYC and beyond to investigate the policies of the buildings in which they live and if necessary try to do something about the practice.

 Educating those who don't understand the issues can be instrumental in saving wildlife. In some cities citizens have distributed flyers with the facts concerning secondary poisoning, that not all rat poisons are alike, and that sanitation is the real answer.


We must all do what we can, or soon particularly when it comes to the repercussions of these second generation poisons there will be no more urban hawks. 


In  Central Park and Riverside alone, there are four dead hawks in the last month that we know of.  No we do not know that these four died of poison.  Nor do we know how many more have died in the city that we don't know about but some  will have died due to poison.  Poison that will have been laid by members of our own species who did it because of ignorance or sloth.

What can you do that will make a difference?

MORE TO COME AS WE FIND OUT MORE
NEW UPDATE--
How the news of Intrepid, Riverside Mom's death came to the Hawk Bench--in from Katherine Herzog


While watching Pale Male and Zena on their Fifth Avenue nest from the "Hawk Bench", a Park's Ranger came over to me and told me the body of a Red-tailed hawk was found this morning on the ground in riverside Park underneath an active Red-tailed Hawk nest tree.  He strongly believed it was the female who has been using the nest for the past two years.


That's the 4th red-tail hawk death, that we know of, in Manhattan in a few weeks time-this one in Riverside Park and the other three in Central Park.

Donegal Browne

FLASH! Could Double Dipping Greed Be the Real Reason Riverside Hawks Have to Die of Poison?

I received the information below in the comments section of the blog a few moments ago.

John Herrold was also in the news last year regarding the uncommon "double dipping" salary arrangement he has with both the city AND the non-profit Riverside Park Fund.

For example, NYC paid John Herrold $94,099 to run Riverside Park in 2008, (the year the three eyasses died of poison on the nest. D.B.) while at the same time the non-profit Riverside Park Fund Inc. paid him an additional $33,000. (Unfortunately, it seems that being well-connected is the primary consideration when choosing a park administrator.)

http://articles.nydailynews.com/2010-07-11/local/27069594_1_specific-parks-recreation-commissioner-adrian-benepe-city
Could Mr. Herrold be having a conflict of interest here? Though he was told by Parks to follow certain procedures for the hawks benefit, he didn't. There appeared to be a communication breakdown.

Could it be that Mr. Herrold had suddenly grown deaf due to the fact that he was afraid an unenlightened citizen who contributed to the Riverside Park Fund would take umbrage about his complying with directives from Adrian Benepe, Commissioner, Department of Parks and Recreation?

Might he fear that person might see a rat? (Remember the issue of the Director of Recreation aggressively attempting to remove Riverside Mom and the kid's food? Was this due to fear of a deep-pocketed-rat-a-phobe who is a Friend of Riverside Park? )

Is it really so much easier, though certainly not moral, to snatch Riverside Mom's food and poison rats than to clean up the parks nasty garbage mess and put the grass seed in metal containers with metal lids and control the rats that way?

After all Adrian Benepe has lots of parks to keep track of and maybe he just wouldn't notice.

(Still working on today's blog containing some all sorts of things of particular interest plus some very good news about Washington Square. Hope to have it up tonight.)

Donegal Browne

Pale Male, Riverside Park Hawks, and Funny Fur Fox

Photo courtesy of palemale.com

All seems well on the Fifth Avenue front for Pale Male and Ginger Lima so far. Keep those fingers crossed!


Photo courtesy of palemale.com
Riverside Mom and one of her eyasses.

Bruce Yolton at urbanhawks reports that Riverside Park Mom is accepting food left near the nest by humans and so far she and the two eyasses are making it without the tiercel who was likely poisoned.

(No permission for a feeding station necessary as she's just picking the human supplied food up from where ever when she sees it.)

We aren't out of the woods yet as it is difficult for a single parent to feed and watch over multiple young particularly when one has fledged and one is still on the nest. Though she is likely experienced enough to know the tricks of tempting them with food to keep them somewhat together once off nest as she and her mate have fledged three eyasses at once in past years.

Read through and then go to the link above for the full story and to find email addresses for the person in charge of placing the rat poison, and his letter which reads in part--

"Please rest assured we have been actively engaged in working to care for the hawks."

Really? Then how come one of them is dead likely due to rat poison that you placed, and kept in place even after being alerted to the probable danger to the hawks?

I think Mr. Herrold could use a few emails making our deep concern about how he has handled this and our feelings about the death of Riverside Dad very clear, don't you?

Somehow I don't think I'll be buying anything from the Boat Basin Cafe either until they get some better garbage control going. The real answer to rat problems according to all the studies is GOOD SANITATION, not poison.


Zonotrichia albicollis stares at Pyewacket the cat.

Every year just about the time the Juncos head north, a couple of White-throated Sparrows appear, feed up for a week or so and then they too head further north. I find them quite beautiful, not to mention plucky.

A fox with what appears to be a possible fur problem trots cheekily towards the threshing shed and I'm assuming a den I've not discovered quite yet. I'm wondering if she could use some nice chicken with an anti-fungal on it similar to what we do for squirrels with a similar look?

Of course the squirrels get peanuts with their anti-fungal not chicken.

Donegal Browne

John Blakeman--Where is Pale Male's mate Lola? Plus Where the 27 year 9 month old, Old Gal Banded Was Banded, Press Release from the Raptor Trust

Photo by Donna Browne
Lola stands on the nest earlier this year.

W H E R E I S L O L A ?

I have received a number of emails from readers who asked how concerned they should be about Lola as Lincoln Karim of palemale.com has noted several times of late on his blog that he hasn't seen Lola.

December 18th was the last likely sighting, with Lola atop her favorite winter perch, the grate of a chimney on the Oreo Building. As it is now December 30th, this has begun to worry some readers.

Long time reader and urban hawk follower Mai wrote--

John,

Recently, Lincoln has mentioned on his website that he hasn't seen Lola in a while -- do you think this should be cause for concern? They do seem to have always been seen together most of the time in the past.

Thanks for any thoughts you may have about this,

Mai

Ohio Prairie and Red-tailed Hawk Man, John Blakeman weighs in with his opinion--

I, too, have been watching Lola's absence, and yes, I have a measure of concern.

There are only two possibilities. The more favorable one would be that the bird decided to head South for the winter, as many Red-tails do.

The other is that she's dead, from poison in food, or some injury.

The greater probability is the latter. The bird spent the last two or three winters in Central Park, and did well. She's experienced and has no hunger motivations to leave for warmer climes for the winter. But it's still not impossible. She might have lofted high up on a warm thermal (but there haven't been any of these since November) and loosely joined some other Red-tails migrating down from Quebec, upstate New York, or New England. There's a small chance that she's somewhere in the South, asking the question, "Didn't I come down here for some moderate winter weather? Last time I'm doing this, as this is as cold and snowy as NYC." If she's in the South, she picked a bad year to fly there.

But if she did, she'll be seen in February or March, or even in late January.

But I think the far greater possibility is that she's somehow met her demise; again, either by poisoning from a tainted rat, or some wing injury after bouncing off a wire. Red-tails occasionally electrocute themselves by touching opposite wings against hot electrical wires when landing or taking off from utility poles.

If such is the case, if Lola is no more, a new formel (female) will show up when the days start to discernibly lengthen, even as early as mid-January. There is a giant population of "floaters," young, un-mated adults eager to step into an established territory such as Pale Male's.

The resulting pair-bonding, between Pale Male and new mate, can happen in hours, if not just in a day or two. With that, a new mate might appear in January, and except for a different feather pattern, could appear to be Lola once again.

Sincerely,

John A. Blakeman

Everybody keep your fingers crossed and hope that Lola has just decided to hang out in the Hallet Sanctuary where no one is likely to have seen her.

Next up, I contacted the Raptor Trust in regards to a question from readers as to where the Old Gal had been banded geographically. Dr. Soucy had mentioned many birds were banded at his banding station on the Kittatinny Ridge during an interview but it wasn't crystal clear as to whether the Old Gal was one of them. I asked. Yes, she was.

And where and what is the Kittatinny Ridge?

According to the National Raptor Migration Corridor Project--"

"The Kittatinny Ridge and Raptor Corridor in northern New Jersey is a major, inland, autumn raptor (and other bird) migration flight-line and corridor within the Appalachian raptor migration flyway..."

Also see below the Press Release from The Raptor Trust concerning the Old Gal. And in case you were wondering, according to the release, she is not receiving visitors.

OLDEST LIVING WILD RED TAIL ON RECORD RECUPERATING AT THE RAPTOR TRUST

A wild red-tailed hawk with a remarkable story is currently being treated at The Raptor Trust, an avian rehabilitation center in Millington, NJ. The hawk was recovered on a New York highway in November wearing a numbered aluminum band on its leg. The band reveals that, at 27 years and 9 months of age, the birdis the oldest living wild red-tailed hawk ever recorded in North America.

Recovered on a highway near Monroe, NY, the hawk was first taken to New York rehabilitator Suzie Gilbert in November. The red tail, most likely a female given her large size, was weak and starving, and apparently had been trying to make a meal on road kill. Gilbert stabilized and fed the banded hawk—and began the process of tracking her remarkable history—and then transferred the bird to The Raptor Trust for additional care.

What Gilbert discovered about the bird’s history made it especially fitting that the hawk would be transferred to The Raptor Trust. The band it wears was first issued almost 30 years ago to Raptor Trust founder and master bird bander Len Soucy. In the early 1980’s, Soucy helped to establish a hawk banding station along the Kittatinny Ridge to contribute to research on migratory raptors. According to bird banding records, the red-tailed hawk was banded in October of 1983 by Dick Carroll, an apprentice bander working under Soucy’s federal license. At the time, her brown striped tail feathers would have marked her as an immature “passage bird” making her first fall migration at 6 or 7 months of age.Coincidentally, 1983 is also the year that Soucy and his wife Diane founded The Raptor Trust as a nonprofit rehabilitation center for injured& orphaned wild birds.

At The Raptor Trust, the red tail has been successfully treated for a respiratory infection and a minor wing fracture, and is now recuperating in an outdoor aviary.As with all birds being rehabilitated at The Raptor Trust, the red tail is not accessible to the public. Visitors to the Trust are, however, welcomed to view the nearly 50 non-releasable resident hawks and owls for which the center provides a permanent home. Located at 1390 White Bridge Road in Millington, NJ, The Raptor Trust is open 365 days a year to welcome visitors and to receive injured and orphaned wild birds for care.

Staff at The Raptor Trust will continue to care for the venerable red tail through the winter, and pending her full recovery, they hope to release their remarkable patient this coming spring.

Donegal Browne