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The hawk marooned in the middle of busy Melrose Avenue on Saturday was "young, hungry and weak," said Daniel Chervoni, a member of the Friends of Brook Park environmental group.
The bird took a tumble from its nest atop an air conditioner on 149th Street and Melrose Avenue.
Fortunately, local bird watcher Lee Rivera grabbed the hawk from the dangerous intersection and rushed it to nearby Brook Park in Mott Haven.
Thanks to a band of Bronx bird lovers, a baby red-tailed hawk might get to grow up be like this big guy, who was rescued in an unrelated 2007 incident that also occurred in The Bronx. Photo: Kevin P. Coughlin "We were trying to feed him chicken and sliced turkey but he wouldn’t touch it," said Chervoni.
They rushed the bird to licensed falconer Ludger Balan, who was coincidentally giving a talk they’d planned to attend about 50 blocks north on the Harlem River.
The urban nature buffs stuck the bird in a cage made out of milk cartons and delivered spirited it to Balan in a canoe.
"It would’ve died if it wasn’t put in the right place," said Harry Bubbins, the Brook Park administrator.
Balan, who had another hawk with him, had raw chicken and mouse meat in his pocket, which the bird happily devoured.
"It sang when it saw the other red tail hawk. It had been quite the whole time before," said Bubbins.
Balan will care for the bird until it is ready to be on its own.
Two peregrine falcon chicks found in an unsuitable nesting place in Queens were relocated to the top of the Brooklyn tower of the Verrazano-Narrows Bridge where they were welcomed into the nest by a mother falcon already caring for three new chicks of her own. “The mother took in the adopted chicks without question and has been feeding them and watching over them as if they were always part of her brood,” said Verrazano Narrows General Manager Daniel DeCrescenzo. “It’s truly nature at its best.”
Chris Nadareski, a wildlife biologist with the city Department of Environmental Protection, who coordinates the city peregrine falcon program in cooperation with the State Department of Environmental Conservation, said the relocation was necessary because the chicks would have had trouble safely leaving the nest area while learning how to fly.
The two adopted chicks were moved on May 28, and a few days later, the two male and three female chicks were one big happy family.
This means that MTA Bridges and Tunnels, in addition to the Verrazano’s two male and three female chicks, is home to a total of 11 new peregrine falcons this year.
Four females hatched at Marine Parkway-Gil Hodges Memorial Bridge in Queens and two more, a boy and a girl, hatched atop the Bronx tower at the Throgs Neck Bridge.
The Verrazano chicks have the most sweeping view of New York Bay from their perch 693 feet above the water at the Brooklyn tower.
The Throgs Neck birds are 360 feet up on the Bronx tower, and the new falcons at the Marine Parkway Bridge have the most unusual nest; inside an old World War II gun turret 215 feet above the water on the Rockaway side of the bridge.
Every dog has its day. And pigeons have one, too.
Bird advocates flocked to Central Park to celebrate the third annual National Pigeon Day (June 13th), an unofficial holiday to celebrate New York City's unofficial bird.
The appropriately named founder of Pigeon Day, Anna Dove, said the holiday aims to inform the public about the much-maligned scavenger bird.
"There are a lot of misconceptions about pigeons, and we want to educate people," Dove said. "They're getting a lot of negative publicity against them, and it's unjustified."
Some might say Pigeon Day was for the birds, but Lori Barrett, 41, attended to help raise awareness about pigeons captured in New York, then shot for sport in other states.
"I just want to set the record straight today: Pigeons are protected by New York State law," said Barrett, a lawyer.
Dove founded the New York Bird Club in 2002 for lovers of winged things - and her passion runs so deep that she legally changed her surname to Dove to honor her fine-feathered friends.
Bird was the word during Pigeon Day, which featured a speech on the history of the carrier pigeons and a live rendition of the National Pigeon Day anthem. The tune was inspired by the legendary carrier pigeon Cher Ami, which delivered messages to save lives during World War I.
But Dove thinks people nowadays perceive of pigeons as closer to flying rats than heroes.
"Rats and rodents, they're on the ground. But pigeons fly, so I don't see the connection," she said. "Pigeons have wings like angels. Maybe we should associate them with that."
Rock Dove (pigeon) photo: presidentavenue.com
Plum Island Animal Research Center
A federal review of the proposed sale of a remote island housing an animal disease laboratory must include a study of any impact lab testing had on the environment, as well as consideration of endangered bird species found there, two EPA officials said this week.
"Any potential contamination threats to public health and the environment associated with the existing disease research facility should also be evaluated along with appropriate remediation or removal actions,'' Environmental Protection Agency regional administrators Judith Enck and H. Curtis Spalding wrote in a June 2 letter provided by the EPA to The Associated Press.
Access to Plum Island, off New York's Long Island, is restricted to the approximately 300 scientists and support staff working at the lab, although officials have allowed the media and public officials to visit on various occasions. Audubon New York volunteers have also been provided access to do research on the bird population there.
The federal General Services Administration is conducting an environmental impact study of the island. The government is considering selling the island because it is planning to move its animal research operations to a new lab to be built in Manhattan, Kan. The EPA's two-page letter was submitted as part of the public comment process being conducted in advance of the proposed sale.
Plum Island scientists research pathogens like foot-and-mouth disease, which is highly contagious to livestock and could cause catastrophic economic losses and imperil the nation's food supply. In the early 1950s, there was research into the potential use of pathogens for biological warfare. Besides the laboratory, which has its own wastewater treatment plant, the island is home to a defunct U.S. Army base.
A former Plum Island administrator, retired Col. David Huxsoll, a veterinarian who served as the lab's director from 2000 to 2003, has said that anthrax was among the diseases studied at Plum Island.
The EPA letter made no specific recommendations about addressing potential contamination at the lab.
The EPA administrators also noted that Plum Island is home to a number of federally protected endangered bird species, including piping plovers and roseate terns. Also, several hundred common terns, which are designated as a threatened species by New York state, are found on the island, they said.
Sean Mahar, director of government relations for Audubon New York, commended the EPA administrators' letter.
"This crown jewel of Long Island Sound supports such a great diversity of birds and other wildlife, and deserves the utmost protection possible,'' he said.
The EPA officials' letter said they would be willing to serve as a cooperating agency in the GSA's development of its environmental impact statement. A GSA spokeswoman did not immediately respond to a request for comment on Friday.
They also suggest that, while the immediate area around the current lab could be the site of future development, consideration should be given to keeping the remainder of the 840-acre parcel in its natural state.
They noted that the EPA and state environmental agencies in New York and Connecticut designated the island in 2006 as one of 33 "Long Island Sound Stewardship Areas.'' The designation was intended to raise awareness about the ecological resources found at the sites.
"We would also expect the EIS to address air and water quality impacts of the development and conservation alternatives under consideration, including the potential wetlands impacts and the need for drinking water and wastewater facilities,'' Enck and Spalding said.
The GSA environmental review is expected to be completed by the end of the summer, after which public hearings will be scheduled. At least one Long Island environmental activist considers the timetable unrealistic.
"This letter characterizes the island as a rare ecological gem that warrants protection,'' said Adrienne Esposito, executive director of the Citizens Campaign for the Environment. Her group rallied to defeat a proposed liquefied natural gas terminal in Long Island Sound in 2008.
"The island needs to be comprehensively assessed,'' she said. "Until we find out what's there, ignorance isn't bliss, ignorance is dangerous.''.
Update: The NYC DOT will not be removing the House Sparrow nest from the crosswalk signal on the Upper West Side of Manhattan. It was determined that the sparrows were not negatively effecting the function of the signal.
A family of house sparrows is living inside a crosswalk signal on a tony Upper West Side street -- coming and going through a golf ball-size hole in the side.
"It's really cool and cute," chirped Genevieve Fallon, 26, of the East Side. "I feel birds are always sneaking into different parts of the city, almost like nature's reclaiming it."
But don't be fooled by this heartwarming scene of a mama bird feeding her chicks a feast of masticated bugs -- these birds are as tough as the city they live in.
BIRDIES DO THE 'WALK' OF LIFE: A resourceful house sparrow feeds her chicks at their home inside a crossing signal at an Upper West Side intersection. Adam Nemser/PHOTOlink.netWhen it comes to finding a nest, house sparrows are notoriously aggressive.
"They are fierce nest competitors," said Karen Purcell, an urban-birds specialist with the Cornell Lab of Ornithology. "They are able to evict other birds, even native species. They are survivors."
“Purcell speculated that the cozy, steel-encased and rat-proof casing provided a perfect nesting location for the sparrows because they thrive near humans.”
The nest may have previously inhabited by a bluebird, tree swallow or titmouse before the house sparrows took over.
"They are pretty ruthless, and that's why a lot of people don't like them," Purcell said.
And like New Yorkers, these sparrows enjoy socializing at watering holes -- or, in their case, puddles.
Unlike New Yorkers, however, they don't hold onto to their bargain-priced apartments for long.
As soon as the chicks have grown enough -- which can happen in two weeks -- the whole family will move out.
Nicole Garcia, a spokeswoman for the city Department of Transportation, said the agency would remove the nest if workers found it.
"We will inspect any location and remove anything obstructing a signal," she said.
But Bill Juckett, a tourist from Kentucky, said, "I think it's wonderful. It's not interfering with anything, so I think it's great.
"I can't see the problem. Maybe the city should put holes in all the signs."
The site owes much of its visual richness to hundreds of images taken by amateur photographers across the country who contributed to the site’s Birdshare group. The site's sounds and video come from the Cornell Lab's Macaulay Library, the world's largest archive of wildlife sounds.
The Webbys are presented by the International Academy of Digital Arts and Sciences, a 650-person judging academy whose members include Martha Stewart, David Bowie, Arianna Huffington, and Twitter's Biz Stone. This year’s competition received nearly 10,000 entries from more than 60 countries and all 50 states.
"The Webby Awards honors the very best of the Internet," said David-Michel Davies, executive director of the Webby Awards. "The Cornell Lab's achievement is a testament to the skill, ingenuity, and vision of its creators.
For a full list of Webby Awards winners, visit http://www.webbyawards.com/
“No one knows what the impact on birds will be, but bird watchers have a key role in helping us to find out,” said Chris Wood, co-leader of eBird, a joint project of the Cornell Lab of Ornithology and National Audubon Society. “We’re asking birders to survey the coastline for Brown Pelicans, Roseate Spoonbills, American Oystercatchers, and other birds to help us understand the spill’s impacts—and guide the region’s clean-up and recovery efforts.”
Anyone can view maps showing where each species is and how many are being reported up to the hour by visiting www.ebird.org. The new eBird Gulf Coast Oil Spill Bird Tracker on the site enables people to gain quick access to interactive maps showing the latest bird reports.
“It’s inspiring to see how bird watchers use their passion to help the birds,” said eBird co-leader Brian Sullivan. “They’re out there watching birds for fun, but at the same time they’re providing scientific data needed to understand the consequences of environmental damage and to aid recovery efforts.”
Audubon will use the data as part of its on-the-scene recovery response, including volunteer recruitment and coordination, and to help in its ongoing habitat restoration initiative across the Gulf region. “This area is vital to the well-being of birds, other wildlife, and human communities too,” says Tom Bancroft, chief scientist for Audubon. “The eBird effort will give birders across the area a way to help bring it back.”
In the current red-tail nesting season, Mr. Kollbrunner is tracking 25 pairs in Queens County as an urban naturalist and consultant for the Audubon Society. “The first-born baby scared me the other day, teetering unattended at the edge of the nest,” he says. He watched it all on the Hawk-cam, a 24/7 Web camera he has pointed on the nest of Momma and Poppa, red tails he has monitored like family for 12 years.
Momma returned in time with tasty prey, sparing junior a 90-foot flop to the sidewalk.
Succulent pigeons can outrace red hawks in a straight line, so Momma and Poppa developed an ambush strategy. He sneaks up to roust rooftop flocks toward Momma as she flies out of the sun for a kill.
Mr. Kollbrunner, born in Queens, found his first hawk sighting so exotic that he became a wildlife photographer and a teacher of ways to track life along the skyline. For him, romance teems in the airy jungle of kestrels, peregrine falcons, coopers and sharp-shinned hawks, plus his red tails.
He cherishes Golden Boy, a prize offspring of Momma and Poppa, for a New York moment of unexpected compassion. After fully fledging the nest, Golden Boy still stayed behind to protect a weaker sibling. His first hunts were devoted to feeding the sibling. He nattered and nagged and refused to go his own way until the bird found the strength and the savvy to get up and take on the city.
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