Lima, Pale Male's most recent mate, was found dead in Central Park yesterday. Pale Male was already being courted by a new female on Sunday.
We should be careful not to jump to any conclusions about Lima's cause of death. Until the initial necropsy results are in, neither lashing out at the Park's Department or the Central Park Conservancy, or postulating that there is some conspiracy against hawks is helpful.
Lima was on what has become a favorite perch, the globe on the southeast side of the American Museum of Natural History. (Now that the leaves have fallen from most of the trees, the globe is now visible from the terrace of Belvedere Castle.)
On Saturday, I explored the park looking for raptors. My first was a Merlin falcon on a water tank on top of the Lincoln Correctional Facility on 110th Street. It was chased away by a mob of Crows. Later, I saw a Sharp-shinned Hawk hunting, although it was too fast to photograph. As I ended my walk, I saw the female Red-tailed Hawk, Lima on a 5th Avenue building around 77th Street.
This afternoon, Lima, the female of the Fifth Avenue nest was on the Beresford Apartments and the American Museum of Natural History. On the AMNH, she perched on an ornamental eagle.
Today I got some great looks at Pale Male and Lima. With the kids gone, they seem to be having fun having time together.
Somtimes Pale Male is in plain sight. Tonight, he hunted and ate, both a bird and a rodent, in under an hour around 79th Street and Fifth Avenue. He made it easy to take his portrait.
