Opera Star, Pale Male and Zena's Only Remaining Fledgling in the Wild May Be Dead

Photo courtesy of www.palemale.com/


NYC Hawkwatchers believe that the last of Pale Male and Zena's 2012 fledglings still in Central Park, Opera Star, may be dead due to being sprayed with pesticides. (Or by secondary rat poison as he has disappeared after showing the classic symptoms of poisoning and his body has not been found or a necropsy done. DB 4/7/2012)

  I watched for years before any of the known hawks were made ill or died due to human activity.  Now it's become heartbreakingly constant.


Opera Star, who was very similar to his father in activity and dash, appeared to be doing amazingly well in avoiding secondary rat poisoning so far.  Now he may be dead because of people's inability to deal with a mosquito bite now and again and the advertizing of exterminators.


Poison is poison, and it isn't good for us, our children, or who knows how many other birds and assorted wildlife who will have died anonymously  due to the spraying campaign.

Donegal Browne

Pale Male's New Mate and the Mystery Hawks at 85th and Central Park West on August 14th.

Courtesy of palemale.com

Pale Male's new mate.  She is his 8th. They may be very tough to tell apart at times.

 Lola his mate of longest duration was 5th.  She and those following her,  either are known to have died of secondary rat poisoning or are suspected of dying of it.

Does Pale Male really know something the others don't that allows him to avoid secondary rat poisoning?  Or has he just been extraordinarily lucky?

 Photo courtesy of palemale.com

This photograph is a prime example of the difference in the profile between the male hawk, left, Pale Male and the female, right, who is yet to be named.

Look at the difference between the eye to tip of beak ratio, length and angle combined with the shape of the brow.

Both hawks are in molt, hence the somewhat disheveled look of their feathers. Note in the top photograph the tail feather which is only half grown in on the female's tail.

Interestingly the late hawkwatcher Jeff Johnson, on August 14th, saw a  female Red-tailed Hawk that he believed to be Zena.  This bird attracted Jeff's attention initially because she was having a difficult time flying, missed her perch, and fell to another limb.  

Whether this was Zena or not, it appears from my take that this bird was ill or poisoned.  A healthy Red-tail doesn't flop about in the manner Jeff described.

Another oddity was that, if the female was Zena,  she was seen near a Red-tail who was not Pale Male, below.
(Both had red tails.) 

The two hawks near 85th and Central Park West.




WINORR- A link from the Horvath's Facebook Page concerning the two previously poisoned Fifth Avenue  fledglings.
http://www.dnainfo.com/new-york/20120813/upper-west-side-morningside-heights/pale-males-baby-hawks-cant-come-home-until-rat-poison-removed#.UDcKF5gUgUc.facebook

Donegal Browne

Jeffrey Johnson's Observations Unpublished Before His Death-- Continued

   First.............................. 

                         IN MEMORIAM

May Jeffrey Johnson's spirit be lifted on the wings of  birds and carried softly with good grace into the Light.


LOOKING FOR ZENA, AUGUST  12, SUNDAY
Photos and commentary in italics by Jeffrey Johnson
Un-italicized commentary is mine.

Donegal,

Striking into the Park from 85th and 5th Avenue I went directly to CPW and checked the Beresford towers and the 241 Building looking for Red-tails with no joy. Metadata time 1801.

Going across The Great Lawn I cane upon Pale Male surrounded by admirers just to the west of  Cleopatra's Needle. Metadata time 1818.

Pale Male having dinner near Cleopatra's Needle. Metadata time 1819.

 Pale Male close. Metadata time 1820.

Pale Male pauses in a ray of late day sunlight. Metadata time 1823.

Keep in mind that Pale is currently awash with people on the ground looking at him.  But being the original human habituated urban Red-tailed Hawk he isn't the least bothered and in fact is going about his Red-tail business completely unfazed by the attention.  

In fact he often hunts quite successfully in full view of the crowd.  The prey in Central Park rather tends toward the human habituated themselves or they wouldn't make much of a living.

Pale Male tree scene from the NNW. Metadata time 1825.

 Pale Male lustily enjoying his catch. Metadata time 1829.

 Pale Male launching to the NW. Metadata time 1832.

 Pale Male briefly lands in a tree to the NW. Metadata time 1833.

 Pale Male flew to an adjacent tree and moments later dove off to the NE. Metadata time 1835.

Had to depart scene without seeing Zena again.

Jeff

Thus ends Jeff's observations for August  12th with a look of the end of Pale Male's tail feathers. 

More to come...

Donegal Browne