Washington Square Park Red-tails! Plus the Echoes of Washington Square That Reverborate to NOW

In regards to the nest on the President's window sill overlooking Washington Square Park...

 Just in from Pon Dove

Hi folks,

Update: There are THREE eggs! They were spaced a couple of days apart as always but it had to be verified. The new president will have a fun time, what treat for him (and a distraction, lol).

Love, Pon 🐦

 

Thanks Pon! Can't wait for the next chapter!

 

Washington Square Park always reminds me of all the politics and the foment, poetry and the free speech movement, the music.. that still echo there from low these many years ago before the hawks came to nest and bring people together in a different flavor  of  a common cause once again.  

 

Then I thought of the difference made in presidential hopeful, an politician from almost another age, Bernie Sander's standing in front of thousands when the omen of a little female House Finch landed on his podium.  Suddenly he had the news cycle which the powers that be had been loathe to give him before.   And he had it for days.

 

And for some who hadn't quite gotten it yet; it was an omen.

I then ran across a reworking by the writer Bob Burnett of the  poem  The Revolution Will Not Be Televised originally penned by the jazz poet, Gil Scott-Heron, decades ago.

 

My, my, see, I say with a not quite cynical smile, he has a bird in his name.

And in this year of primaries, suddenly appearing "birds", and upcoming elections there was a vague serendipity,  a rhythm, a whisper of what?  A floating feather perhaps... from then to now.

 

 The Revolution Will Not Be Televised 

 

You will not be able to stay home, brothers and sisters.

You will not be able to tune in, turn on, and cop out.
You will not be able to lose yourself on Twitter and Facebook,
Skip out for a hit during commercials,
Because the revolution will not be televised.

The revolution will not be brought to you by Coca Cola, Dow, General Electric, McDonald’s, Omega, Panasonic, Procter & Gamble, Samsung, and Visa as a four-part special without commercial interruptions.
You will not see pictures of Charles and David Koch blowing the bugle as their conservative political lackeys loot America.
They started the revolution and made sure it will not be televised.

The revolution will not be on Masterpiece Theater and will not star Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie or Beyonce and Jay Z.
You will not see pictures of energy companies digging up tar sands and leveling mountain ranges while they pollute America’s air and water.
You will not hear greedy corporate executives plan disinformation campaigns so their salaries can grow larger.
The revolution will not be televised.

There will be no pictures of cops beating protestors at Occupy Wall Street or blockades of the Keystone Pipeline.
No images of unemployed, able-bodied men, whose jobs were outsourced.
There will be no pictures of angry women protesting the closure of health clinics.
No images of poor folks being denied food, shelter, and medical care.
The revolution will not be televised.

The revolution will not be featured on NCIS or American Idol or Mad Men or The Game of the Week or Breaking Bad.
The revolution will not be on Saturday Night Live or the Sunday morning talk shows.
The revolution will not be on CNN or Al Jazeera or the Christian Broadcasting Network or the Home Shopping Network or the Do It Yourself Network.
The Revolution will never be discussed on the Fox News Network.
The revolution will not be televised.

There will be no highlights on the eleven o’clock news.
There will be no pictures of hopeless men and women huddled on grungy streets.
No images of starving kids begging for food.
There will be no pictures of the 99 percent who believe in Democracy.
The revolution will not be televised.

The revolution will turn on a message from our sponsor:
Just do it.
We try harder.
Don’t leave home without it.
Takes a licking and keeps on ticking.
Reach out and touch someone.
This land is your land...
The revolution will put you in the driver’s seat.

The revolution is not a game you can play with a thousand virtual friends.
The revolution is not a smart phone App that will give you the answer.
The revolution is not a laborsaving device,
The revolution is a lifesaving device.

The revolution will not be televised.
That’s just as well because they’re watching your TV, Xbox, phone, and computer.
They’re reading your emails, texts, and instant messages.
Fortunately,
The revolution will not be televised.
The revolution will be live.
The revolution will happen in your heart.

  http://www.huffingtonpost.com/bob-burnett/the-revolution-will-not-be-televised-2014_b_4830672.html

 

I know that Pon Dove will know....

Donegal Browne

What Is That Hawk and Do the Teneyke Eagles Have a Hatch?

It is a blustery day.   There is a constant veering 30 plus mile an hour wind.  And the birds are doing remarkable, amazing feats of flying.  So much so that it took me half a field of flight to get the  camera on this one.

What is the raptor above?

A brown posterior, long tail, and a white rump patch?  

That's a female Northern Harrier.   Her flight in this wind is  a wonder to see. 

And then she is gone...veering, twirling, riding the wind out of sight!

She is such a wonder, in fact,  it is hard to catch one's breath.

And how might the Teneyke Eagles and their nest be dealing with this wind?

 Dad is preening his feathers and Mom stands on the far edge of the nest looking back at me.

Two days ago I came to take a look and it appeared that Mom might have been leaning down to  feed but it wasn't definitive.  She leaned down into the nest repeatedly but perhaps she was just eating herself.

 Today she appears to be leaning down and looking intently into the bowl of the nest.  It is time if not past time for a hatch.

 Then she goes to the far side of the nest and sits half down.  Remember when she was sitting eggs she was lower?

 Then she is up and looking fixedly down into the bowl.

Then half down again.  (No this is not at all crisp even though I'm using a tripod, but keep in mind the tree is moving in the wind and I'm pretty much about to be blown away myself.)

Some pigeons fly over.  Dad keeps an eye on them but Mom keeps her eye on me and stays down.

Yup, we're both still here.

And the birds fly back in the opposite direction.  We all watch.  And we all wait some more.  It's a standoff.

And it stays that way.  

Two days ago....

I saw  this.  Maybe it was feeding behavior.  Maybe it wasn't.

 But this isn't getting either of us anywhere.

TOMORROW IS ANOTHER DAY.

But on the way home....
Remember the Red-tailed Hawk nest that I've been watching in the row of trees.  So far there has been no hawk sitting it and I strongly suspect there should have been if it were going to be used.

But on the way home...

I saw this nest not far from the nest that was in use last year which has remained inactive this year as far as I can tell.

When I got home and was able to zoom in on it with the computer...

I'm thinking that THAT is the  tail of a sitting Red-tailed Hawk!

I'll just have to get CLOSER!

Happy Hawking!
Donegal Browne