Public support enables hawks to keep N.Y. nest Compromise reached at building

This seems to be the month of the red-tailed hawk. Recently a furor arose over a pair of red-tails living in – of all places – New York City.

The two have nested on a luxurious apartment building across from Central Park for 12 years. During this time they’d become celebrities, first being the subjects of a book (“Red-Tails in Love” by Marie Winn), and later a PBS documentary entitled “Pale Male,” the name given to the male because of his lightly colored plumage.

The birds thrived on the neighborhood population of rats and pigeons, raising more than 20 offspring since 1993. Last week their nest was abruptly removed. Some residents of the building had complained about seeing the grisly remains of the hawks’ meals, and claimed the nest posed a safety hazard as twigs would occasionally fall to the ground.

Who knows why, after a dozen years, this had suddenly become such an overwhelming issue.

The hawks were able to nest on a cornice above the 12th floor because spikes put in place to discourage pigeons from roosting there provided the necessary support for their sizeable nest. After destroying the nest, the building’s management then removed the spikes.

According to Frederic Lilien, director of “Pale Male,” the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service gave the building manager permission to remove the nest after the manager claimed the nest was “inactive.” This proved to be incorrect, as birdwatchers had observed the hawks engaging in aerial courtship displays. Red-tails may not be breeding yet in New England, but the milder winters in NYC-and abundant prey in Central Park-have made it possible for the hawks to commence with their breeding season much earlier. In fact, according to Ms. Winn’s Web site, the earliest observed mating occurred on Jan. 26 of last year. And the hawks have been attempting to rebuild the nest ever since it was removed, making frequent trips from the park with twigs in their talons.

Precisely detailed records of the hawks’ success have been kept by a community of birdwatchers that has grown up around these birds over the years. These were people who thought nothing of showing up at 5 a.m. every morning this past spring to witness the first flights of the couple’s fledglings. Now, they came to the hawks’ defense.

Pleas for help were sent out over the Internet, petitions were circulated, vigils were held. One woman, writing on a birding e-mail list, said, “I spoke with a friend tonight who lives near the hawk’s building and she reports quite a scene along the avenue there – a crowd continues to rally to the cause of replacing the nest…[people] are “honking if they love hawks” and there are people crying as well as yelling.”

Not all of the building’s residents wanted to see the hawks go. Some, such as actress Mary Tyler Moore, joined the protesters in calling for the nest to be replaced.

Happily, they were successful. National Audubon Society president John Flicker, other Audubon members, and city and state officials met with the building’s management, who agreed to replace the nest and the supporting spikes. The management also agreed to erect a guardrail around the nest to protect pedestrians from falling debris.

Such a simple solution! Now, if they could just have done that in the first place….

To find out more about Pale Male and his mate Lola, go to: http://www.palemale.com. You can also visit http://www.capitolconnect.com/audubon/.

The Orono-Old Town Christmas Bird Count is today. Those who live in the count area of Old Town, Milford, Orono, Bradley, Veazie, and Eddington, north of Day Road, can call Judy Markowsky at the Fields Pond Audubon Center, 989-2591, or e-mail jmarkowsky@maineaudubon.org with a list of birds seen at your feeder today.

The Bangor-Bucksport Christmas Bird Count will be Jan. 1. Those who want to participate may call the Fields Pond Audubon Center at 989-2591.

NEWS bird columnist Chris Corio can be reached at bdnsports@bangordailynews.net