Towards the end of last summer I was sitting in Brooklyn’s Prospect Park with Sofie when I looked up to see an enormous bird taking off from the top of a tree. Some time later I found The City Birder blog and its author Rob Jett who told there was a good chance that huge bird was a red-tailed hawk called Big Mama who has been living in the neighborhood for at least the past five years. My story about Big Mama appeared in the New York Times this weekend.
Until my talk with Rob I had no idea that red-tailed hawks lived in Brooklyn. And I was determined to see one again. I spent two wonderful, if unsuccessful, mornings walking around Prospect Park with Rob, who pointed out all kinds of birds and wildlife that I had never noticed before despite frequent walks there.
Because I was unsuccessful in the park, and because Big Mama had last been sighted in Green-Wood Cemetery, Rob put me in touch with a couple of birdwatchers there. And pretty soon I found myself being escorted around the cemetery by Marge Raymond, a member of the Green-Wood Historic Fund who gave me a tour of all the interesting tombs as we searched for the hawks.
Green-Wood was stunning in the fall. And I made a return journey a little later, during hawk migration month in November, when I saw sharp-shinned hawks, cooper’s hawks and even a turkey vulture. We caught a glimpse of the red-tails but that was all.
On November 3, Sofie’s birthday, we decided to go for a walk in Prospect Park. It was a perfect day, not least because it was midweek and the park was as close to deserted as any park in New York can be.
As we were walking along the path on the eastern edge of an area called the Long Meadow I saw something hurtling towards us from our left out of the left corner of my eye. I couldn’t work out what it was because it was coming so fast and low. At first I thought it was a rabbit. There was a flash of white fur and then the object bounced off the brow of a low hill about 20 ft to our left and spread its enormous wings.
The bird flew about midway between us and another couple who were walking about 20 feet ahead, startling the living daylights out of all of us. We all just stood and stared as it sat on the low branch of a tree about 15 ft feet away to our right. The woman in the couple ahead wanted to know what it was, as did a woman who appeared from behind. But of course, I already knew. I’d spent all that time looking for a red-tailed hawk. And out of nowhere a red-tail had found me.
My photos from that day didn’t come out very well. But this one from the New York Times, of a red-tailed hawk in Prospect Park gives you just as good a view as we had that day. It wasn’t Big Mama, probably one of the other hawks in the park. But still an awesome sight.
Nice looking boneyard…. how long till they open a Subway franchise there? You can’t swing a dead cat in London nowdays without hitting a newly opened Subway store. Thanks!
When I see a big bird I yawn or duck. You get dozens of blog posts and an article in the New York Times.
If I were to chuck an empty crisp packet or an old shoe your way, how many lines of copy do you reckon you could get from them?
You’re either a jammy git or you’ve got too much time on your hands. The tweety bird article was very sweet though; I’ll give you that.
Whenever I see the words ‘red-tailed hawk’, I smile. Not because I’m a birder, or have ever spent that much time around them. But because of a fellow Canadian artist’s rendering of one some years ago, one that stirred me so much, I bought a copy: http://www.artandnature.com/mclean/redtailedhawkmantling.html
Thanks for reminding me of it.
This article reminds me of the day in early December when I was walking my dog on Bergen Street in Boerum Hill when in the distance I saw what I thought to be a pigeon in distress. My eyesight being what it is and it being dusk, I thought it was a pigeon that had crashed into the sidewalk and was thrashing about. As I got closer, I realized it was thrashing about because there was something holding it down. Whatever it was got spooked and let go of the pigeon, who got the hell out of Dodge as fast as he could. Then the “attacker” spread his huge wings and fluttered up to the top of the fence of the nearby community garden, and looked down on me with what appeared to be disdain for interupting his snack. It was then that I realized that he was some sort of a hawk. Unfortuntely is was a cold day and I was wearing gloves (and holding a confused dachshund on a leash) and couldn’t get to my camera phone before the bird again took off into the trees. He sat there for a while, but was too far away for me get a really good lookk at him. Being a city girl and not well acquainted with this sort of thing, I did some research and found out that he was most likely a juvenile red tail. I’ve not seen him since, to my disappointment, but it was certainly a fascinating thing to see in your own neighborhood on a bleak winter’s day.
My first encounter with one of the hawks (not sure if it was one of the red-tails or the red back) was on an early morning summer in 2006. I had fallen asleep on the sofa with the TV remaining on. The early morning sun splashing on my face woke me but I kept my eyes closed. Then a shadow caste over my face which seemed strange. Opening my eyes I notice a silhouette of a giant bird. I sat up and slowly walked out of the sun and the hawk was perched on my fire-escape on Prospect Park SW in Windsor Terrace. I couldn’t believe it. The hawk was cocking it’s head to get a better view inside my living looking towards the floor where my cat, Opha, was sleeping. Luckily the window was closed. I ran to get my camera, but was too late. The bird was gone.
After that I saw the bird some time earlier this summer in the park up in a tree. Again not sure if it was the same exact hawk. The bird did nothing spectacular.
Yesterday though, I was reading a class assignment for a digital photography class while sitting on one of the benches in the park that line the path from the Bartel-Pritchard Circle entrance. Pigeons were having a feast on a piece of dirt-covered bread and tomato under and behind the bench. I got up to avoid the distraction from my assignment and heard a scuffle of the pigeons as they flew in every direction. Then a large winged bird flew above my head and landed in the tree to the right of the fork in the path. The hawk was so commanding. It was empty handed so it was still scouting for prey. A father with his daughter in a stroller stopped to look at this fantastically beautiful bird too. Unfortunately I didn’t have my camera with me. Damn!
Are you aware if these hawks have names like Pale Male in Central Park?
Cheers.
Sure, the largest bird is known as Big Mama and has been in the area for some years. There’s also Junior. And last year there was a baby known as Baby Huey.
If you want to find out more about our neighborhood birds (and the hawks) you should check The City Birder. It looks like he’s seen quite a few hawks lately.
Thanks pdberger.