Baby Hawk Rescued In The Bronx

Over the weekend a baby red-tailed hawk fell off of its nest atop an air conditioner and down on to 149th Street and Melrose Avenue in the Bronx—and luckily landed in to the hands of a troupe of bird lovers! According to the NY Post, the friends rescued their new feathered friend on the street, then canoed up the Harlem River in search of licensed falconer Ludger Balan—who happened to be nearby giving a lecture which they were on their way to.

In the meantime, the do-gooders "were trying to feed him chicken and sliced turkey but he wouldn’t touch it" (but hawks love chicken!). Once he was with Balan, however (and another hawk he had with him), he feasted on raw chicken and mouse meat. Balan will now take care of the hawk until he's ready to be released into the wild again.

Contact the author of this article or email tips@gothamist.com with further questions, comments or tips.

By Jen Carlson in News on June 29, 2010 11:59 AM

Comments [rss]

dadoc

I always know when there's a Kestrel having lunch on my roof. I can see the feathers floating by my window. When I look out, sure enough, there it is, one foot on the prey, one on the antenna, chowing down. Wonderfullly adapted little predator.

dadoc

Kestrels have been down for a few years, while there's redtails everywhere. The bird pictured above looks like an American Kestrel, great bird. Eats mice, sparrows, large bugs. You can see them around town, about the size of a starling, like to sit on antennae on high buildings. Very distinctive call, a high-pitched eeeehh-eeeeh-eeeeh. If you take your headphones out, you can hear them around the city. Beautiful in the binocs, kind of like a Perigrine-Nano :)

zincink

8>)

that is super adorable

Friends of Brook Park

Thanks for reporting on good news. The local folks had been monitoring the nest through binoculars for sometime, in fact the mother was hurt too a week or two ago and not around. (was in the daily news at some point) father was not coming frequently...time to get out of the nest it seems and go for it. many do not survive, mostly because they eat vermin that have been poisoned and the toxins then kill these noble birds. Pics of the real bird at:

http://www.flickr.com/photos/friendsofbrookpark/sets/72157624252698289/

ksh68nyc

Are we sure that's a red tail? Looks like it could be a peregrine falcon.

henryhamilton

Good eye. Certainly not a Red Tail, I say Kestrel.

JGNY

Yes that is a Falcon. Possibly a baby Peregrine or American Kestrel...

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/American_Kestrel

CaptainMXC

The picture in the NY Daily News is of another falcon entirely. That's some good reporting!

beardofbees

Yes, maybe Gothamist should have just used a photo of a kitten dressed up like a cheerleader.

resa

Where is the "Like" button?

greeen

I just wonder why they couldn't put it back with the parents where it would get a proper upbringing with its own kind. Seems wrong to just take it away like that.