Following up on yesterday's post about the loss of the Tompkins Square red-tailed hawk fledgling, it looks like we'll never know what happened as Wild Bird Fund disposed of the body without sending it to the DEC for a necropsy.
This is extremely frustrating as this hawk not only meant the world to an entire neighborhood, but we are facing a potential public health issue if rodenticide was involved. We've lost two of the three hawk chicks this year, which is not normal, and is worth investigating. If there was a monetary cost involved, we're certain we would have been able to raise the funds to cover the transport and testing of the hawk. The hawks themselves deserve dignity and respect, and to not bother determining the actual cause of death is infuriating.
Here are some photos showing what we have lost: the two red-tailed siblings playing together in Tompkins Square Park.
In this video, one of the fledglings plays in the grass as the other swoops past a couple of times.
To recap previous hawk deaths reported on this site -
- 2021: One of the fledglings dies after being found in distress on a fire escape. Undetermined cause.
- 2021: One of the chicks dies in the nest. Undetermined cause.
- 2019: The second hawk chick dies in the nest. Cause: rodenticide poisoning.
- 2019: The first hawk chick dies in the nest. Undetermined cause.
- 2018: One of the fledglings dies a few days after leaving the nest. Cause: rodenticide poisoning.
- 2017: Christo and Dora's foster fledgling dies on Avenue C. Cause: West Nile virus.
- 2016: An adult female hawk dies in Collect Pond Park while building a nest. Cause: rodenticide poisoning.
Unfortunately, this is not a complete list, only the deaths we have personally witnessed.
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