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.
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.
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