December 09, 2004

• omg it shit on their building? Defintely a pest, kill it!!!!! /snark
• This is a total drag. I loved that PBS doc.! What's wrong with a little bird poop.
• RaeRae thank you for your link.
• Outrageous. Fucking humans.
• As a fairly avid birdwatcher in NYC the past few years (though recently relocated), I have to say: I'm not too worried. There are plenty of other red-taileds in the city - in most cities, in fact - and the famous guy will surely find a new place to build a nest. There's a pair that lives in Morningside Park that built their home in the cathedral (on the head of one of the statues facing the park. nice). So the actual birds, I'm not worried about. The removal of the nest, on the other hand, is assinine and a sad example of how too many folks in the world view wildlife. Ugh. What were they thinking?? Nobody should knowingly pick a fight with Mary Tyler Moore. NOBODY!!
• How anyone can live in New York and be bothered by a little bird shit is beyond me. What kills me is that the Pale Male and Lola are circling with twigs trying to rebuild their home of ten frickin' years. What the hell is wrong with people? Anybody know who we bombard with letters demanding that the metal bars be put back up and the nest be rebuilt?
• Hurt Hawks
• That is bloody outrageous. OMG!! Wildlife! Run fer yer lives! Moronz.
• Again, another sign of short sighted planning leading to long term problems. Specifically, pigeons. For those of you not used to living in cities with vibrant pigeon populations, they really are air rats. Buildings unlucky enough to become a roost can look forward to a permanent slick of white slime coating the sidewalk. Areas with older growth trees are favorite midday hangout spots, which are worse because, while the shade is nice to walk under in the summer, you never know when you get a surprise dose of smelly "hair gel" (actually happened to 2 co-workers). Central Park happens to be a nice environment for pigeons as there is plenty of open area, and, more importantly, plenty of tourists willing to feed them. There used to be a large flock that liked to take a midafternoon tour around the North Meadow, and I recall there being a small resident population around the Met. All in all, more then enough pigeons around to leave plenty of bird poop. Anything to reduce the population, such as nesting hawks, is a Very Good Thing. Anything to remove pigeon-hunting animals is a Very Bad Thing. And I could have sworn that New York State law prevented you from doing anything to a wild animal outside of licensed hunting/fishing, sparrows, or rabies. And CLEARLY claims that the nest was abandoned are laughably false, as the pair are trying to rebuild. I say fine the building, and then after Pale Male has moved on, use it for a Peregrine nestbox, as clearly it is a proven location for successful raptor breeding. Oh, those crazy billionaires, what will they think of next?
• Dumb and maddening, all at the same time, and I live thousands of miles away. Eejits that they are. Grrr.
• Just watched a blurb on the local news about this.Apparantly the concern of the residents was not so much with the bird droppings , as it was the with occasional pigeon carcass raining down on their heads. Now, I'm no Park Avenue millionaire, but evan I can sympathize with the ick factor of that just a bit. Seems to me that a net below the nest could have solved that problem pretty easily, though. Locally, the Canada Geese can be a bit of a nuisance if they suddenly decide that your particular patch of lawn or pool will make a nice home for the summer. You would not believe the amount of excrement that a flock of Canada Geese can produce in a day.
• We have, thankfully, a group of peregrine falcons living in Seattle. They've nested at one of the downtown office buildings for some years now. They even have their own camera and webpage http://www.frg.org/frg/fieldnotes/seanotes.html (sorry, to early for html) But I have to agree, pigeon carcasses would be kind of ugly after awhile... I've found what I imagine is the 'leftovers' from either the peregrines or other predators in the city and it's pretty ugly. Basically just wings attached to a ribcage and that's it. Sorry to be so descriptive...
• The condo association is sure they can get $2000/mo for that cornice, but you can't have just any old bird moving in there, darling.
• So the falcons that were brought in to kill pigeons are killing pigeons and people are upset about that? City folk. If I can make it to work without seeing some sort of road kill it's a miracle. I don't enjoy it and wish it didn't happen, but it is unavoidable.
• While I disagree with the building's decision, I do understand. In today's litigious society, having a piece of nest (It was 50 sq. feet according to the Daily News) or body part of a pigeon land on some sue-happy dumbass could result in a hefty judgement against the (obviously very wealthy) landlord(s). In addition, the removal of the nest was completely legal, as you may remove any nest of a hawk from a building as long as there are no eggs in it. They did, however, manage to piss off a great many of their own tenants and New Yorkers, so they may bow before public outcry if the hawks try to rebuild.
• Yeah but if a pigeon dropped on your head they could say it was an act of god ;) The idea that someone may sue over this is a scary thought. What troubles me is the idea that any creature when it is not wanted around is considered a 'pest'. Pigeons are 'pests', raccoons are 'pests', skunks are 'pests'. It troubles me because we are effectively taking away their natural habitat and then treating them like an annoyance. (yes am very much an animal lover - not quite PETA material though) I used to help my friends raise bird of prey ... *sigh* I dunno just bothers the hell out of me and think they could have found viable options to removing the nest.
• Protest!
• Pale Male will allowed to rebuild on the same spot! They are even restoring the spikes that held the original nest in place! Victory for raptors, yay!
• Hope they rebuild. This seems so unnecessary on the part of the building owners. The protests and fuss was preditable. So what was the point? Or was there a point?
• This is good news, I hope they rebuild. Pale Male will allowed to rebuild on the same spot! They are even restoring the spikes that held the original nest in place! Victory for raptors, yay! posted by patita at 09:44PM UTC on December 16
• yeah i notice the headlines are all about how the birds are back, but . . unless i've missed something, they're not back yet - they ran them off and they haven't been back yet.
• They haven't left, but then, they haven't rebuilt the nest, either, according to this.
• I hope they do rebuild.
• red hawk, climb higher above the landbound people streaming by then stoop to seize a pigeon dinner from the sky fly, lazy goose, do hurry on and leave that white-splashed lawn alone lacking wings, those on the littered streets below deplore the mess you make they never know birds evolved to make a mess then up and go
• Not only have they rebuilt, but they've been "spotted flagrantly mating all around the neighborhood of the ritzy Fifth Avenue apartment building where they were evicted."
• Yeah but they said the same thing about me when I was there. That NY press will write anything.
• This is good.
• High ways.
• You single guys ought to learn to tango.
• When ywe have six limbs it is easier to tangle than tango. And all the more if ye have these damn pollen-baskets on your knees.
• *snickers at Bees pollen-baskets
• Pale Male and Lola pictures -- they seem to be back and atop a nest of eggs, and the city's hawk-watchers seem eggs-sighted.
• "And he's a romantic," Karim notes. "Every Valentine's Day you can find him on the Carlyle hotel where the honeymooners go."
• Thanks bees for the link to the pictures of my favorite New Yorkers.