Hawks Over Hong Kong Harbor

"What kind of man would live where there is no daring? I don't believe in taking foolish chances, but nothing can be accomplished without taking any chance at all."
--Charles A. Lindbergh, American aviator

There is a family of Red-Tailed Hawks living in the ornamental stonework at the top of the buildings lining Central Park along Fifth Avenue in NYC. Called "urban hawks," they belong to a dynasty of urban-dwelling Red-tailed Hawks that reside in the boroughs of NYC and trace their origins to one particular bird named Pale Male. Hatched in 1990 and arriving in Central Park in 1991, Pale Male tried to nest in a tree, but was driven off by crows and roosted instead on a building across the street from the park on Fifth Avenue. He has lived there ever since, mated several times and raised numerous eyases (baby hawks; I prefer the word "hawklets" but birdwatchers far wiser than I correctly use eyas); his last two with a young hawk named "Ginger" in 2011.

Pale Male's story, spanning 20 years, is an epic tale and the stuff great legends are made of. A profound predator and ardent lover, he's had many mates, starting with his first love who was called just that, First Love. Although Pale Male was clearly smitten with her, she was injured early in their relationship and removed to NJ for recovery. In his sadness, Pale Male found a second mate named Chocolate, so named because of her coloring, and in 1995 had his first three small chicks with her. But his happiness was short lived; later that year Chocolate died in a collision with a car on the New Jersey turnpike (just one more reason the Jersey turnpikes should be avoided at all costs), and Pale Male was once again left bereft and alone. Fate was kind to him, however, and First Love, healed and banded, returned to him that same year; the pair instantly reunited and raised a large family of eyases (hawklets.)

But doom was to descend on the pair of young lovers, and their happiness was cut short when First Love ate a poisoned pigeon in 1997 (damned pigeons) and died shortly thereafter. Somehow resurrecting himself from his misery, Pale Male mated once again with a young hawk named Blue in 1998 and proceeded to hatch eleven new chicks with her until she mysteriously disappeared after the 9/11 attacks in 2001. Not to be deterred, Pale Male moved on, perhaps this time not so wisely. He hooked up with Lola, a showgirl of sorts, and set up a lavish nest at a fancy Fifth Avenue apartment building on E. 74th Street (apparently Lola had very discerning tastes), and they raised seven chicks together from 2002-2004. Lola, however, having had enough of domestic bliss, did not provide any new offspring after that and disappeared around December 2010, presumed dead (but possibly having run away with the circus, the place where old performers go to die.)

And that brings us to Ginger. A young beauty with dark feathers on her neck and chin, she captured Pale Male's heart with her youth and radiance and moved quickly into the E. 74th Street address in early 2011. Although she was only two years of age and it would be her first attempt at motherhood, Ginger managed to hatch two new chicks in the Spring of 2011, much to the joy of urban hawk watchers - the first baby hawks in the nest since 2004! Clearly, Pale Male was elated - two new offspring added to his large and growing brood! But alas, he was not to spend the rest of his days with his young love. Ginger died on Feb. 25, 2012 after eating a poisoned rat (damned rats), once again leaving Pale Male to his aging bachelorhood.

The old gent is still residing on Fifth Avenue and presumably looking for another young mate. He appears undeterred by his string of unfortunate relationships and has become quite handsome in his old age; no doubt, some young and beautiful hawk will soon catch his eye and move into the Fifth Avenue residence.

In the meantime, since I can't watch the progress of the urban hawks in NYC, I'm fortunate enough to have the urban hawks of Hong Kong to keep me occupied. I like to believe they have just as interesting and colorful a history as their cousins back in the States; certainly watching them play on the rising air currents around our building, it's easy to think so. In fact, the antics of Pale Male in NY may just "pale" by comparison to the stories that could be told by the swooping Hawks over Hong Kong Harbor.