Queens Chronicle: Red-Tail Hawks Take Up Residency In Unisphere by Liz Rhodes...

The Unisphere — iconic symbol of the 1964 World’s Fair and the 21st century’s equivalent of the Statue of Liberty — has become the refuge of nesting red-tail hawks.

A hawk Web site reported the news last week, but Parks Department officials said on Monday they have been at the site for at least two years and in Flushing Meadows Park for five to six years. Al, a Parks Department supervisor who did not give his last name, said he’s been following the birds since their arrival in the park, and marvels at their beauty.

“Four years ago there was a hawk perched on a bench near me and I walked up to him and looked him in the eye,” he said. “To me he had a real medieval look.”

Al said foraging is easy in the park for the hawks because there are plenty of rats and pigeons. “They especially like to hunt around Meadow Lake,” he added.

Red-tail hawks are commonly found in rural areas, but over the last 10 years have made inroads in New York City. The most famous red-tail, Pale Male, is a popular tourist attraction around Central Park. When he and his mate, Lola’s nest was removed two years ago from a Fifth Avenue residential building, people protested and put such pressure on building owners that the nest was restored.

Marie Winn, author of “Red-Tails in Love,” Pale Male’s story, was delighted to hear that Central Park is not the only city park to house red-tails. “It amazes me to think that in 1993, when Pale Male first built a nest on a Fifth Avenue ledge, this was a rare, even unique occurrence,” she said.
Since then, there has been an explosion of red-tails throughout the city, she noted. “They’re nesting on buildings, ornaments, fire escapes in every borough. The Unisphere nest is one of two I know in Queens. There are probably many more yet unreported.”

The other known nest in Queens is on an apartment building in Briarwood.

The Unisphere red-tails hatched two eyasses (nestlings that have not yet fledged) this spring. One recently took off and was spotted Monday landing on the Unisphere, away from the nest near Indonesia on the globe.

For more information on hawks in New York City, go to mariewinn.com or urbanhawks.blogs.com. To see the nestcam in Briarwood, go to jknaturegallery.com.