Path: utzoo!attcan!uunet!aplcen!haven!adm!cmcl2!phri!ccnysci!patth
From: patth@ccnysci.UUCP (Patt Haring)
Newsgroups: rec.birds
Subject: Re: Hawk in the city?
Summary: Peregrine Falcons in Manhattan (New York City)
Keywords: Falcons
Message-ID: <3801@ccnysci.UUCP>
Date: 12 Dec 89 04:11:05 GMT
References: <1870.2583873c@mccall.uucp> <17866@dartvax.Dartmouth.EDU>
Reply-To: patth@ccnysci.UUCP (Patt Haring)
Followup-To: rec.birds
Distribution: na
Organization: City College Of New York
Lines: 44

In article <17866@dartvax.Dartmouth.EDU> dragon@eleazar.dartmouth.edu (Sam Conway) writes:
>In article <1870.2583873c@mccall.uucp> scott@mccall.uucp writes:
>>This weekend I saw a hawk eating a wren.  I live in the city(~30,000).  I
>>rarely seen a hawk in town much less eating its prey.  I live in an apt.
>>building, and this hawk was on my neighbors patio.  Has anyone seen this
>>before?
>
>It is certainly likely.  Peregrine falcons have been known to make their 
>nests in large cities for the past several years.  Tall buildings are
>an ideal habitat for this cliff-nesting falcon, and as the bird is a
>bird-eater, the presence of pigeons creates a real smorgasbord!  There
>are two well-known nests on two skyscrapers in Boston, and one nest
>was reported last year on the Verazzano Narrows Bridge in New York.
> 
[  ]

Peregrine Falcons live in Midtown Manhattan (New York City) right
around Central Park; also on the East Side near Rockefeller University
and New York Hospital where ** FALCON WATCHERS ** scrutinize them most
every day.  Last year, or was it the year before, the daily newspapers
ran articles about one of the young falcons learning to fly; 
it, unfortunately, couldn't land very well and fell into one of the
large smokestacks (chimney) on one of the buildings on the east side
but fortunately two or three falcon watchers saw it fall into the
smokestack (some of the doctors from Memorial/Sloan Kettering were
also watching the young falcon practice flying/landing) and reported
it - another falcon watcher ran to the building where the smokestack
was located - they opened the unused furnace and there it was, none
the worse for wear :-)  I believe it was placed back in/near its
nesting place and lived to practice flying/landing with its nest mates
once again :-)

I saw a documentary film showing falcons living in big cities in Japan
so this must not be an unusual occurrence.

  




-- 
Patt Haring 
patth@sci.ccny.cuny.edu 
          -=- Every child smiles in the same language. -=-