Pale Male：A Hawk Survives in New York City

Pale Male: A Hawk Survives in New York City

Look, up in the sky! Is it a bird? Is it a plane? It’s a red-tailed hawk! They call him Pale Male because he has a large patch of white feathers on his chest, and he is male. He came out of nowhere to try to make it in the big city. He is brave and fearless. There are many birds that live in New York City’s Central Park. In 1990, 215 different species lived there—but no hawks. Then, in the fall of 1991, Pale Male appeared.

He was the first hawk to make his home in Central Park, the most visited city park in the United States. Hawks usually live in the open countryside, so people were very excited to see him. They enjoyed watching him hunt for rats, pigeons, and squirrels from high atop his perch. Red-tailed hawks like to watch for prey—the creatures that other animals kill and eat—from the tops of tall trees. But since Pale Male lived in the city, his favorite perches were the tops of apartment buildings!

Fifth Avenue, which lines Central Park, is where many rich and famous people live. Pale Male sat on their balconies. When he saw a rat or pigeon on the ground, he would swoop down to catch it. People were amazed that a hawk could survive this way in the city. People were even more amazed when, the next spring, Pale Male brought a mate to New York. Together they built a nest in a tall tree in the park.

But crows, a natural enemy of red-tailed hawks, drove the pair away. What would they do? Pale Male had an idea. He and his mate broke twigs from a tree and flew to the top of a 12-story apartment building. They built their nest on a ledge above someone’s apartment window! They chose a good spot. The spikes on the ledge helped keep the nest firmly in place. And the ledge gave them a great view of the park. Soon the family grew.

When three chicks were seen in the nest, people watching below cheered. They had been waiting a long time to see the chicks. Pale Male and his mate fed the baby chicks every day. When the babies were ready, they learned to fly from their parents. Pale Male and his mate were good parents. Pale Male was becoming more and more famous. A devoted group of bird-watchers followed his every move. New Yorkers grew to love him as they read about his adventures in the newspapers and saw pictures of him and his family on the Internet.