Monday, May 22, 2023
Hazy sunshine. High 75 degrees.
Notices
Our calendar has lots of local events! Click on the link or the lady in the upper righthand corner to check.
Community Board 7’s next proposed full-board meeting is scheduled for Tuesday, June 6, 2023, at 6:30 PM. Agenda and registration link will be announced.
Poetry
“Pale Male, the Famous Central Park Hawk, Is Dead at 32. Maybe,” read the headline of The New York Times obituary last Wednesday, describing in fascinating detail the story of the city’s original celebrity bird. At issue, the Times reported, is that “Pale Male had never been banded and had no identifying tag. If the hawk was indeed Pale Male, he had lived to be over 32 years old.” Red-tailed hawks generally don’t live past their 20s, The Times explained. Jessica Wilson, the executive director of New York City Audubon, acknowledged it was an exceptional life span, but said “bird authorities told her the dead Hawk was Pale Male.” Those authorities said he died of “severe renal failure likely due to old age.”
Either way, writes poet Eric Mathern, he lives on.
“In Memory of Pale Male”
By Eric Mathern
Unless you’re a special hawk,
Unless you have avian fame,
You’re not recognized by millions
Or have people know you by name.
I saw him on a park-side building
Before he flew off toward the zoo,
His tail feathers catching fire
While he sailed over Fifth Avenue.
Over the years New Yorkers
Found delight in Pale Male’s story;
He hovered on outstretched wings,
Oblivious to his own splendid glory.
Oh, how he delighted the throngs
Who witnessed his chicks in a nest;
Those once-fledglings glide overhead:
Living tributes to a legend at rest.
Eric Mathern is a teacher, a tour guide, and a poet. “I am also an avid Central Park ‘birder,’ and often draw inspiration from my frequent visits to the park,” he wrote.
Have a great week!
The lark’s on the wing,
The snail’s on the thorn,
But Pale Male is dead,
Leaving the city to mourn.
Lovely words ❤️
Thank you for this tribute and beautifully written piece. The children’s book Pal Mal, Citizen Hawk of NYC, is a wonderful resource to introduce children to the story.
My partner and I are often in Central Park at dusk, to listen to and watch birds and other wildlife- when it is peaceful, as the helicopter noise has finally died down (at least to some degree) to allow one to actually hear the birds.
This past week we stood still, smiling, as we gazed at a night heron by the water’s edge, as the racoons were running about. While on our walks, we have met several owl birders- devotees that gather to watch and document these wonderful creatures, who have been generous with their knowledge and tips for us to spot the superstars of the early evening Bramble scene.
We both live on the UWS. If you look up a list of top ten reasons why you should live on the Upper West Side, the list always includes proximity to parks and greenspace.
It is well documented that spending time in nature has numerous wellness benefits- for both physical and mental health. The Washington Post had a wonderful article last week, “Why birds and their songs are good for our mental health,” that not only outlines some of this research, but also includes some lovely birdsong to listen to:
https://wapo.st/3BFUx9I
We understand it takes an incredible effort to keep this incredible local resource accessible- and want to thank the NYC Park Service, and the Central Park Conservancy for all their efforts (and the Riverside Park Conservancy, another local gem close by.)
But NYC Parks are underfunded, and access to green space is not equitable across the city. Having access to clean, safe, well maintained parks is essential not only for wellness, but for cooling temperatures in our urban landscape, as summers are predicted to become increasingly hotter. Providing a beautiful space for exercise, social and cultural programming, lower income families can access local parks when vacation trips, summer camps and gym memberships are financially out of reach.
But too often parks in under-resourced NYC neighborhoods are in desperate need of maintenance, staffing, and investment to add more green space. We can remember when Central Park had fallen into ruin, and what a difference in the quality of life we have as a result in the investment made by the city and the Central Park Conservancy.
These other parks spread across other boroughs are also part of our important migration corridor, and increase our overall local biodiversity. There are lots of free birding walks throughout the city, offered by NYC Parks- you can find them in their calendar of events, which can be filtered by date, borough, or even neighborhood.
https://www.nycgovparks.org/events
There is even a map available, Birding by Subway, put out by NYC Audubon:
https://www.nycaudubon.org/events-birding/birding-resources/birding-by-subway
There are 400+ organizations that are part of the Play Fair Coalition, encouraging city hall to increase parks funding to 1% of the annual budget. Most major U.S. cities spend between 1-2% of their city budgets on parks, and we should too.
Please consider adding your voice of support to this important 1% for Parks initiative:
https://www.ny4p.org/what-we-do/play-fair
Want to help reduce non-essential helicopter noise on the UWS? Visit https://stopthechopnynj.org/
To help out at the Central Park Conservancy:
https://www.centralparknyc.org/
I wish we had roughly 1000 more of these guys throughout the city. Might help put a significant dent in the rat and even the pigeon population!
Saw a redwing sitting on a vent pipe near my terrace two days ago. Thrilling to see it up close. Possibly a descendent of the prolific Pale Male (RIP). The nearby pigeons were unmoved.
The local pigeons have evolved to be unafraid of potential avian predators. All the more reason to introduce many more and cull their numbers! lol
Very nice tribute