Comparisons of Bobby of Washinton Square Park, Comparison for the New Girl of Washington Square Park, and the Inexplicable FAA

Photo by Pon Dove

Here are three photographs by Pon Dove, one of the moderators of the NYU/NYT Livestream chat room . She identifies the hawk as Bobby. Compare the three shots with Francois Portmann's photo of the hawk in Washington Square Park below.

Photo by Pon Dove

Photo by Pon Dove

Photo by Francois Portmann

http://www.fotoportmann.com/birds/

The consensus of local watchers appears to be that yes, the hawk photographed by Francois Portmann a few days ago in Washington Square Park, is Bobby as opposed to Bobby' s new mate.

Photo by Francois Portmann (Link below)
Compare this photo with the photo below, attempt to take into account the difference in light and exposure.

Photo by Pon Dove, who suggested that we look at the area under the neck compared with Francois' photo above.

The fore-neck is streaked in both cases but is it streaked in a way that one could consider this the same bird?

Since Dominatrix is less frequently in Tompkins Square Park these days, two youngsters have taken to the area and photographer Francois Portmann has been busy taking their pictures.

Hey Donna,

The 2 derelicts of TSP at:
http://www.fotoportmann.com/birds/2012/01/10/hawks-in-the-square-ii-tompkins -square-park-nyc/
Greetings Francois

And more on the totally bizarre behavior of FAA bureaucrats that has held up the assisted Whooping Crane migration, from Robin of Illinois--

http://www.cbsnews.com/8301-205_162-57354419/whooping-cranes-grounded-by-faa/

That link takes you to a news article on the subject, but take note that you can leave comments. I cannot find any way or e-mail address for the FAA, so this may be the only way to make ourselves heard. The clear consensus in the already posted comments, is that the FAA is filled with nitwits who don't have enough real work to do.

Some of the comments (quoted):

So don't pay the guy for flying, pay him for bird management. There are no passengers. Re write the law to make sense.

Simple solution, the pilot makes the flight for free and charges the charity for writing a report.

And the best one of all.....Petrel44 wrote:

Well, let's see: I'm a government employee, a pilot and have a degree in fisheries and wildlife and more than a passing familiarity with ornithology. So I can hit this from a number of perspectives. But only one is worth a hoot here: you've likely got a couple of bureaucrats that feel that their territory is being violated and have decided to whiz all over the project, making everyone involved toe the line in simple acknowledgement of their domain. You can bet that a waiver could be granted in a couple of hours by reasonable people. Instead we're informed that the birds will have to wait until spring, likely in an unfamiliar environment that has potential for improperly patterning the migratory processes of some of the rarest of North American birds. And this in order to "send a message" to those who might profit from toting others around in experimental aircraft.

For a link to sign a petition in hope of stopping all this nonsense go to the comments section of the post titled "Is this Bobby?" Link discovered by Karen Anne Kolling of Rhode Island.

Donegal Browne