Pale Male

[Bobbie Ireland]

Here's an associated story from 10,000 Birds... Good series of posts.

http://palemaleirregulars.blogspot.com/2011/01/where-is-lola-mate-of-pale-male.html

Bobbie

[Donna]

Thanks Bobbie, wow good blog on Lola.

This from Lincoln about Lola.

Today I looked up at the Beresford window and stared at the empty wrought iron rail which so often held Lola's beautiful frame with so much symmetry as if it was crafted especially for her. My heart grew heavier as I recalled whenever I found her there alone I would soon leave her in search of Palemale. But if instead I found Palemale in the window I stayed with him and never went in search of her. I recounted this biasness over the years and always whispered to her as I walked off "I know you understand Lola. I just know you understand."
Now I stare up at the empty window and long to stay with her even for just one more moment. I strain my gaze fancying that she is inside the window arranging some sticks and then she would suddenly hop onto the rail and begin to preen.
I still look for her on every limb of every tree along each sterile path I take through Central Park. So many times I feel I see her but it turns out to be just a hump in a branch or a cluster of dried leaves tricking my eyes. I feel if I give up looking for her that I would have failed her, and yet I feel if I probe too much I may be dishonoring all the beauty she brought throughout the many years she spent with us.
But I shall never stop looking and I will continue to hope that one day one of those bends in the branches or one of those clusters of leaves will turn out to be my beautiful friend Lola.

[Bobbie Ireland]

"I feel if I give up looking for her that I would have failed her, and yet I feel if I probe too much I may be dishonoring all the beauty she brought throughout the many years she spent with us."

Well-written piece, isn't it? Those wild things sure do get into our hearts.

[Donna]

"I feel if I give up looking for her that I would have failed her, and yet I feel if I probe too much I may be dishonoring all the beauty she brought throughout the many years she spent with us."

Well-written piece, isn't it? Those wild things sure do get into our hearts.

No doubt!

[valhalla]

"I feel if I give up looking for her that I would have failed her, and yet I feel if I probe too much I may be dishonoring all the beauty she brought throughout the many years she spent with us."

Well-written piece, isn't it? Those wild things sure do get into our hearts.

No doubt!

I can't read the drivel that Linc writes - he needs a human girlfriend!

[Bobbie Ireland]

"I feel if I give up looking for her that I would have failed her, and yet I feel if I probe too much I may be dishonoring all the beauty she brought throughout the many years she spent with us."

Well-written piece, isn't it? Those wild things sure do get into our hearts.

No doubt!

I can't read the drivel that Linc writes - he needs a human girlfriend!

Did I miss something??

[MAK]

We do get attached don't we? The key words are "cycle of life".  

[Kris G.]

"I feel if I give up looking for her that I would have failed her, and yet I feel if I probe too much I may be dishonoring all the beauty she brought throughout the many years she spent with us."

Well-written piece, isn't it? Those wild things sure do get into our hearts.

Beautifully written! And they truly do get to our hearts. 

[rushhen06]

"I feel if I give up looking for her that I would have failed her, and yet I feel if I probe too much I may be dishonoring all the beauty she brought throughout the many years she spent with us."

Well-written piece, isn't it? Those wild things sure do get into our hearts.

No doubt!

I can't read the drivel that Linc writes - he needs a human girlfriend!

Whoa !!

[Donna]

Ever since Lola walked out on him (or, um, died), Pale Male hasn't been the same red tailed hawk we all fell in love with lo those many years ago; he's stopped grooming his talons, he's been drinking more, and he spends his days at the track and his nights in the clubs. As if the boozing, womanizing and squirrel-chasing weren't enough, he's got some serious baby mama trouble now.

After Lola disappeared, Pale Male hooked up with feisty, dark-haired Ginger; after a few weeks though, that relationship collapsed, and she left the park. Then Pale Male met his Mia Farrow, Pale Beauty (in this analogy, Lola was Diane Keaton, and Ginger was Stacey Nelkin). However, Ginger has come back into the picture suddenly, and now, she is sitting on Pale Beauty's egg!

"We have all these images of birds being monogamous and loving couples because our ideal couples are often birds. But the reality is that birds have very messy lives...Birds have extramarital affairs, and they lay eggs in other birds' nests," said Glenn Phillips, executive director of New York City Audubon. Hey buddy, nobody is married here, hawks are more enlightened than that. Pale Male is just having his mid-flight crisis...or he's turning into the Charlie Sheen of hawks (#notsoaring). We're just nervous about what happens when that egg hatches—will Pale Male meet his Soon Yi Preven?



the gothamist

[dbishop]

I follow Pale Male in NYC occasionally:

http://www.palemale.com/

He's an old bird at this point.   Remember the PBS Nature documentary?

[Paul Hamilton]

I spent about an hour watching Pale Pale and his mate, Lima (who may actually be Ginger) yesterday.  At first all I saw was what appears to be an empty nest, but Lima soon arrived.  Unlike a peregrine who either swoops up or flaps hard to reduce airspeed before landing, Lima folded her wings and stooped onto the nest.  When I thought about it, I decided it made sense -- redtails don't fly as fast as peregrines but do have to dodge tree branches enroute to the nest. 

In any case, it soon became clear that there were two redtails in the nest.  In a few minutes, Pale Male flew off.  I'd read that he often hunted from a perch like an accipiter, but his flight that day was pure redtail  Off he went, circling higher and higher in updrafts until he vanished into the turbulent gray sky.

Surprisingly, I saw no other watchers anywhere near the east side of the Model Boat Pond where I stood.  Given that Pale Male and Lima seemed to have just made a nest exchange and looked to be sitting on eggs, that was unexpected.  Then, again, it was cool and rainy -- not ideal for either hawkwatching or photography.

Paul

[Donna]

Great pics Paul, so weird hearing Pale Male and Lima.

[dale]

I still find it amazing that it's so easy to spot and watch them! Nice pictures, Paul!

[Paul Hamilton]

Thanks!
The nest is actually not that easy to spot, as it is screened by trees.  I was able to stand by the benches just south of the Model Boat house and shoot handheld at 1/640 with f7.1 and ASA all the way to 1600.  The rest was luck. 

Paul