The saga of the red-tailed hawk Pale Male and his family is well-known to most New Yorkers and birders. Red-tailed hawks are seen in urban areas and NYC, however, Pale Male (named by birdwatcher and author Marie Winn) was the first known to nest on a building in the city. In 1993, Pale Male set up home at 927 Fifth Ave (at 74th Street). In true obsessive New York style, birders set up camp at the boat pond in Central Park for years and documented the life of Pale Male, his mate Lola, and their offspring with telescopes, cameras, and video equipment. A book was written, and a nature documentary was made in 2003. In 2004, the story became international news when the coop building residents decided to remove the nest and the anti-pigeon spikes used to support it. International outcry resulted in reestablishment of a nest support (read the whole story here). Recently, Washington Square Park in the Village has acquired its own red-tailed resident. I saw him in action a few weeks ago. He has been the subject of recent controversy.
Yesterday morning, while in my living room, I heard louder than usual activity on my bedroom air conditioner (birds cavorting on air conditioners in the city is common). When I went in to investigate, I was stunned to see this huge hawk. I grabbed my camera, and at 8:28 AM, I was able to get this photo (from just inches away) of the hawk finishing his pigeon breakfast, with Washington Square Park as backdrop…
