Christo - Part 1

I'm still reeling from the apparent loss of Christo, our beloved red-tailed hawk who called the East Village home for the past 11+ years. I still don't know what happened to him and, at this point, it's not likely we'll ever know. What I do know is he is not here, and his absence has left a giant hole in my heart.

This is my last photo of Christo, taken the afternoon of February 14 as he helped Amelia spruce up their nest.

This nest is in a new location within Tompkins Square Park. However, the pair have actually been practicing with this nest for the last 2-3 years. In August, after all the chicks have fledged and gone on their way, Christo and Amelia built this nest as (presumably) a bonding activity. By the time the leaves fell off the tree in the fall, the nest was gone. For what ever reason, the hawks decided to maintain the nest this last fall and have chosen it for the 2025 season.

 

Although the season began with Christo, his role has now been filled by a new male hawk. I'll introduce him soon, after I get to know him better. I want to be sure, though, that no one holds any animosity towards this new hawk. It's heartbreaking to see a new hawk carrying on where Christo left off, but he is doing everything he should be doing.

 

On my last day with Christo, he was up to his usual self, hunting rats in the park. Something I've always loved about him is how he would dive off of his perch and swoop right over my head to nail prey right behind me. He did just that on this day when he dove out of an elm tree and came right over my head to grab a rat in a bush behind me. He came so close, I couldn't focus the camera, so I just turned around and told him he was amazing, and he took his rat to a nearby tree (see below).

 

How did this all start? I had been watching hawks in the park for a few years before Christo appeared. It was normal to see immature hawks pass through the park in fall and winter during migration season. There was even an adult pair that attempted to nest in the park, but failed for what ever reason.

 

Then, one day in November 2013, two adult hawks appeared perched atop the Christodora building and stayed up there for an entire day. They seemed to be studying all the activity in the park.

 

At some point, the pair decided to claim the territory and cleared out all the other hawks. This pair would come to be known Christo and Dora, and the rest is history. 

 

(You can read up on the history of the hawks in my Tompkins Square Park Hawk Archives.)

 

After digging through my archives, this appears to be my first confirmed photo of Christo, taken November 14, 2013. Although immature hawks played around in the park on the ground, I'd never seen an adult hawk do this, so I remember this being an important moment. This adult hawk was different.

Later that winter, we finally caught the hawk pair perched on a fire escape on Avenue A where they could be viewed easily. I remember this as another significant moment because we could compare the hawks side by side and note their differences. Hawk-watcher and photographer Dennis Edge was there, and after some discussion, we surmised the hawk on the left was the male and the one on the right was female. Then they mated and confirmed our suspicions, LOL.

This photo also prompted my first post on the hawks, who were still unnamed at the time.

 

Now that the pair appeared to be settling in, we had to name them. Since the hawks were first seen on the Christodora (and they later began constructing a nest on the building), Dennis suggested they be named Christo and Dora. The names stuck.

 

We spent the rest of that winter being enthralled by Christo as he flew all over the park, energetically catching rats and collecting sticks for their nest. I'd never seen hawks doing this before, so I found his activity fascinating. He pranced all through the trees, breaking sticks, gathering leaves, and casting a spell over all who observed him.

Every moment was a learning experience for me, and may have been for Christo as well. When he arrived, he was very young and this could have been his first nesting attempt. He seemed inexperienced, but took guidance from Dora who supervised everything he did. He took sticks to her so she could see and approve them. If she didn't like one, she kicked it away and he fetched another. He had so much young energy and charisma, it was impossible to watch him and not be taken by his charm.

 

That spring, Christo and Dora successfully raised three chicks at the Christodora nest. In the photo below, Christo is seen feeding two of the chicks while Dora provides shade to the third who is behind her.

The residents of this apartment were generous in allowing a camera to be placed in the window. This provided us with valuable information as far as egg laying, hatching, and chick development.

 

This is one of my favorite photos of Dora and Christo.

Dora was injured in 2018 and had to be taken into rehab where she recovered, but not enough to be able to live in the wild, so she is currently an ambassador bird at a nature center in Long Island where she is well cared for.

 

Amelia took over for Dora and is the current resident female in the park. This is her (below, left) perching with Christo on February 13.

Christo has taught me so much about hawks, birds, and wildlife in general. He's shown me the complex relationships all the animals in and around the park have with each other, and how they all manage to navigate this human-dominated world. I don't know if Christo was raised in a rural or urban area, but he seemed to navigate the city with ease. 

The noise and bustle of the neighborhood didn't seem to bother him. In fact, Christo appeared to gravitate towards human activity; he liked watching the skateboarders and basketball (but didn't seem to go for hockey!), and he attended all the punk concerts in the park. The louder and shriekier the music, the better. People often asked me if the screaming and electric guitars drove him away, but it was just the opposite! My dream was to get a shot of Christo swooping across the stage during a Kembra Pfahler show...he came close by perching in a tree right above the stage during a performance by The Voluptuous Horror of Karen Black, but my dream shot never materialized.

And what of Christo's voice? His vocalizations were most often heard when he called his mate or kids to come get food, or when he was mating. Both instances were high pitched squeaks that could be mistaken for gulls. I was able to catch his serious "Red-Tailed Hawk scream" just a couple of times. Here is one of those instances from July 18, 2014, when he alerted to an intruder (another hawk) in the park.

I will do some more posts about Christo as I can't possibly fit all I want to say into just one, so for this one, I'll just add a few favorite images.

 

Here is Christo approaching Amelia on the cross of St Brigid's church on Avenue B.

 

I love this photo of Christo looking down at his chick in May 2019. He was an excellent dad.

This is probably my all-time photo of Christo as he drinks water directly from the General Slocum Memorial fountain behind the park offices. This was taken on July 24, 2016, during a heat wave. Christo would normally get his water from the bird bath, which had a fence around it, or puddles. Seeing him hop right up to the fountain, which sits in the middle of a pathway in an area full of active children and adults was just insane. I was almost too close for this photo, but I had no room to back up and he wanted that water so bad, he took the risk and ignored all the people who were standing right there. Everyone else was as shocked as I was and, thankfully, let him drink in peace. 

After seeing Christo do this, one of his kids later hopped up on the fountain for a drink! The young ones are always watching and learning.

 

This is Christo on the roof of the Christodora with the moon behind him on February 1, 2023.

I always liked this image of Christo hopping around behind the park offices, taken on December 14, 2014. That part of the park was his domain as he caught many rats in that area and had a favorite elm tree which he used as a kitchen table. He was often back there eating and resting in the shady tree, then bathing in the bird bath down below. Sadly, the big elm died last year and was taken down in 2024. The bird bath has also been removed.

Here is a close-up of Christo from April 29, 2017, as he swooped past me. He had beautiful eyes.

Here is an example of Christo drawing a crowd. He often used the park fences to perch on as he hunted, which placed him at eye level with people. Watching Christo hunt was an intimate experience—he invited us into his hawk world to witness what most people will never know.

Christo showing us his beautiful wings:

Christo was a master at catching rats. Red-tailed hawks eat a variety of prey, but rats were at the top of Christo's menu. Although he also caught pigeons, sparrows, doves, mice, squirrels, and even insects, his skill was nailing rats. I feel privileged to have watched Christo grow from the crazy young hawk who chased after every prey opportunity into an elegant adult precision hunter. 

If in the last decade you saw a hawk perched on the flag pole in Tompkins, it was Christo. That was his throne and no other hawk perched there.

I've worn this ring for the last several years. Christo meant the world to me and I know how important he was to many other people. He brought magic to our community and I will always be thankful for him being a part of my life.

So, where ever you are, Christo, know how much we love and miss you. I hope you're at peace and soaring free.

 

This is the music I hear when I think of him.