The post I never wanted to write

It kills me to write this: I'm devastated and heartbroken to say it appears something has happened to our beloved local red-tailed hawk, Christo. I don't know what has happened—or when, exactly—but the male hawk who is currently in Tompkins Square Park is not Christo.

Christo on his golden perch in 2022.

This is my last photo of Christo, which was taken on February 14 as he helped Amelia spruce up their new nest:

My last sighting of him that day was at sunset when he flew from the cross of St Nicholas of Myra on Avenue A & 10th Street back towards the east side of the park. He had been roosting regularly in the Krishna tree, as evidenced by all the whitewash on the pavement below.

 

I wasn't around the park very much the week of the 17th, but what ever happened took place some time between February 14 and 21. By the 22nd, Amelia was documented mating with another hawk, who was also working on the nest. As this is expected behavior for this time of year, I didn't notice right away that something was wrong. It was only after I checked some of my photos that I saw the hawk mating with Amelia was not Christo.

 

I consulted with another hawk watcher and photographer who also had photos of the new hawk. Christo has dark eyes, brown stripes on his legs, and a particular belly band pattern. This other hawks has bright yellowish eyes (young), no markings on the legs, and a different belly band pattern. I tried to tell myself that maybe the sun made the eyes look different, but the legs of these two hawks are very different.

 

There is a possibility that Christo is out there somewhere, but the fact that another hawk is mating with Amelia and working on their nest makes this unlikely. 

 

At this time, I have no answers, only questions. I will post more in the coming days when I can get my thoughts together. Christo has been my spirit companion for the last 11+ years, so I am in emotional shock.

Boyd Hill Nature Preserve Raptor Fest - Part 3

My final post on the Boyd Hill Nature Preserve Raptor Fest includes this male dark morph Short-Tailed Hawk named Arnold.

Arnold is a rescue, with severe injuries to his wings. If I remember correctly, he was likely hit by a car. Due to his injuries, he now serves as an educational wildlife ambassador. All the raptors who reside at Boyd Hill are rescues and unreleasable.

This little male American Kestrel held court as his handler patiently answered endless questions from the crowd.

I've only had quick glimpses of Swallow-Tailed Kites in the wild, so I was happy to see this one up close.

You can see her right wing isn't quite right, and this is why she is captive. These birds breed in Florida, but there have been sightings of them all along the East Coast, so there's a possibility of seeing one in the NYC area.

One bird native to our area is the (Eastern) Screech Owl.

Screech owls come in red and gray morphs - red is shown in the photo above, and this is a grumpy little gray morph.

They're both cute and fierce.

A lot of people vied for positions to get pics of this Barn Owl. This photo doesn't do its ghostly plumage justice. In person, the bird looked so ethereal.

One of my favorites is the Great Horned Owl. They are common and widespread, but I never tire of seeing their bright yellow eyes.

This dark-eyed beauty is a Barred Owl.

This owl resides at the Preserve, but she has a wild "mate" who has bonded with her. Despite the crowd of people and so many birds of prey present, this wild owl perched in a tree and kept an eye on his lady friend. 🩷

You can learn more about Boyd Hill Nature Preserve and what they do here. I highly recommend it for seeing wildlife and enjoying a unique and accessible natural environment.

 

Boyd Hill Nature Preserve Raptor Fest - Part 2

Continuing from the previous post about Raptor Fest at Boyd Hill Nature Preserve in St Petersburg, Florida, one of the featured birds was this male Aplomado Falcon named Gila who put on a fantastic flying demonstration.

 

He wore a transmitter in case he decided to fly out of the immediate area. 

Aplomado Falcons are native to Mexico and South America.

Gila, being a falcon, flew around at breakneck speed, making photos a challenge. He whizzed over my head several times, so I felt lucky to get the shots I did. Although we have falcons in the city, I don't often get to see them show off their top flying speed.

Another popular star of the show was this leucistic Red-Tailed Hawk. I first met him last year, and wrote a post about him.

This hawk was doing fine on his own in the wild until he consumed poisoned prey. Someone found him and took him to a rehabber who found he had a problem with his left eye, and was determined to be unreleasable. 

 

It's interesting to note this hawk's plumage appears whiter than it did last year. I don't know much about leucism, but wonder if it can become more apparent with each molt.

One bird I associate with Florida and the Southwest is the Crested Caracara.

 

I saw my first one in the wild a year ago as it perched on a fence by the side of a road. This event enabled me to get a closer look at its wonderful plumage.

 

All the birds shown at Boyd Hill are rescues unable to live on their own in the wild. They provide a great opportunity to learn not only about their species, but also about the dangers they face living in a human-dominated environment.

 

More close-ups to come in the next post.

Boyd Hill Nature Preserve Raptor Fest - Part 1

One of my favorite places to visit for wildlife and birding is Boyd Hill Nature Preserve in St Petersburg, Florida. Each year, they have a fundraising event and raptor fest, which I attended this year for the second time. The preserve suffered significant damage from hurricanes Helene and Milton last September/October, so I was happy to see so many people turn out to give support.

Raptor Fest features flying demonstrations by Earthquest, a non-profit organization that promotes environmental education. The star of the show was this Harris's Hawk named Arrow.

Harris's Hawks have so much energy and personality, they always excite the spectators.

There's usually a Eurasian Eagle Owl at these shows as they are large, spectacular owls.

This was a new one for me: a Steppe Eagle.

He was huge, and not in the mood to show off his flying skills on this day, so I hope to see more of him next year.

Another favorite was a female Peregrine Falcon named Sage. I first saw her last year and she was very accommodating for photographers. Here she is with her handler, Steve Hoddy.

There was another featured falcon who put on quite a show for everyone - he, and others, will be in the next post.