24 hours before Christo and Dora's first fledge took the big leap. He's strutting his stuff flap hopping like a maniac.
June 23, 10:49AM The first fledge of the Thompkins Square Park Nest takes the big step off the nest and glides over to the buildings on 9th Street and out of sight.
Time passes and hawkwatchers wait for a visual sighting, the sound of begging, anything...Nothing. They begin asking people if they've seen the young hawk. Also nothing.
More neighborhood folks begin to search as well. What is going on?
A little after 6PM a relentlessly searching resident of 9th Street discovered that the young hawk was down an air shaft between two buildings.
Trapped Hawk? Time for Ranger Rob!
According to his Facebook page, at 6:15 Park Ranger Rob Mastrianni was in Brooklyn giving guitar lessons. By 6:30 Rob had cancelled his last student and was heading for 9th Street to institute a rescue.
At 2:21 PM, Monday, I recieved a jubilant email from Francois Portmann, long time watcher of hawks in Thompkins Square Park and lest we forget the creator of the gorgeous layout of Snowy Owl photos published in Audubon Magazine not so long ago.
Francois wrote-1st fledge...is now in the park, up in trees, after being trapped in an air shaft between buildings in the East Village for almost a day following his first flight.
Big ups to Ranger Rob!
Big ups to Ranger Rob indeed!!!
Rob reports that 1st fledge was in good shape and in perfect feather so immediately was taken to a tree in Thompkins Square park...at which point parents Christo and Dora were on the scene overseeing the situation so no need to worry about 1st Fledge's after fledge care and feeding.
(This youngster is thought to be male and it seems to me that most if not all young hawks I know of who end up in air shafts are boys. Why? Are they just the right size, females being ever so slightly larger?)
Happy Hawking!!!
Donegal Browne (This is the second post of the day, therefore scroll down to see the first.)
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