By Bill Koehnlein
Our GI hawk dives down on Earth Matter chickens on a regular basis!
In 1991, Pale Male, a yearling red-tailed hawk (Buteo jamaicensis) who was hatched during the previous year, took up residency on a window ledge of a tony apartment building at Fifth Avenue and 74 Street, overlooking Central Park. Prior to Pale Male’s arrival, this species was rare in New York City, especially in Manhattan, but since his arrival these birds’ numbers have increased, and even though they remain relatively uncommon some can regularly be seen in several parks throughout the city.
Hawks are classified as raptors (birds of prey), which also include eagles, ospreys, falcons and owls. The red-tailed hawk is one of the largest in the genus Buteo, with a body length that can exceed 22 inches and a wingspan of 52 inches or more, and is the most widespread hawk, found throughout North America. Named for its rust-red coloring on the top of its tail, this impressive bird has light to dark brown feathers on its back and wings, and a very light-colored, almost white, breast, sometimes mingled with darker splotches. Red-tails can live for more than 20 years and, in fact, Pale Male is still alive. In flight, they are graceful, preferring to be carried by wind currents instead of continually flapping their wings. Eagles and owls are natural enemies of red-tailed hawks, and crows are especially aggressive in driving them away from their territory.
Red-tailed hawks—and indeed, all raptors—are protected by both the federal and New York State governments, and while these birds make a positive ecological contribution by helping to control rodents and other pests they are also the bane of poultry farmers, backyard bird keepers and people who raise small mammals like rabbits. Red-tails have been seen to “dive bomb” at birds and animals as big as themselves. The sight of them munching on their prey, sometimes in trees and sometimes on the ground, can be a gruesome, though fascinating visage. There is at least one red-tailed hawk living on Governors Island, and as beautiful and elegant as it is, it is also a deadly enemy of our Earth Matter chickens, who are no match for its exceptionally sharp beak and talons. Indeed, we have lost at least five chickens to this bird: Elegante, our Polish chicken featured in April, one of our GI born Americaurna chicks -(laid blue eggs and was part of the “fab five band” of 2013 seasson. Buff, one of original our “Buff Orpington” hens; Hazel, our beloved “Rhode Island Red” ol’ rooster; and our little silkie Bagel, a cute ball of feathery fluff. Alas, such is the way of nature, though the sadness at the loss of our birds stays with us.