Pale Male & Lola's vacation begins

On his website www.PaleMale.com Lincoln Karim provides a poignant three sentence Field Report:


No one sat on the eggs today. There were numerous visits to the nest but no sitting. Pale Male & Lola were very active yesterday and today around the Pond and are both flying together. Lola appears to follow Pale Male wherever he's perched.

Then Lincoln writes a few more sentences that reflect, in his own unique fashion, the feelings of all the faithful hawkwatchers who have followed Pale Male and Lola's nesting attempt of 2005:

I’m happy that they may be incapable of sadness and other emotions that we are burdened with. I’m also happy that they are unable to communicate with us, which delivers us from the added burden of having to explain what may have gone wrong. From the looks of it they don’t appear to act like anything is wrong. They appear to still feel the warm rays of the Sun, and the gentle glow of the Moon, and the refreshing energy of the wind, so how can they think anything is wrong. I’m sure they can still hear the distant voices of all their mature children praising them for their dedication and love and letting them know that they are all well and doing great. As for the eggs in the nest, I’m sure there is a peacefulness in those tiny unformed hearts that has accepted the will of nature to not allow them to be jumping and running and flapping right now—a peacefulness that no webcam can transmit. I personally don’t feel like it’s over. Maybe it’s because they’re still flying, which forces me to keep my chin up.

Remember the Prothonotary

As the migration begins to wind down, many birders still consider one of the high points the Prothonotary Warbler . It was first seen in Central Park on April 14 and stayed for more than 10 days days. In regard to this beautiful creature, Stephen H. Watson, the California correspondent known to readers of this website as the man who put up the nest box for a pair of Kestrels named Lily and Dash, recently wrote:

Marie,

Deborah and I were enjoying your website and the great photos, and I mentioned the Prothonotary Warbler. "The what warbler?" We went to Birds of North America Online at Cornell's Ornithology Lab ...(TONS of info there on all North American species...highly recommend getting an account) and pulled up the species account.

"One of the most striking wood-warblers of North America, the Prothonotary Warbler intrigues and delights those who visit its swampy world. The only mem-ber of the genus Protonotaria, the species was named for its plumage, which resembles the bright yellow robes of papal clerks (prothonotaries) in the Roman Catholic church. This warbler also holds a place in recent U.S. history by being partly responsible for the conviction of alleged spy Alger Hiss and the corresponding political rise of Richard Nixon.

Although Hiss repeatedly denied ever knowing Whittaker Chambers, the ex- communist who accused him of espionage, Chambers had testified that the men were friends. To verify this, Chambers admitted knowledge about many personal issues, including that Hiss was an amateur ornithologist who had been excited at seeing a Prothonotary Warbler along the Potomac River. When asked later, Hiss independently admitted that he had seen the warbler along the river. As a member of the House Un-American Activities Committee investigating the Hiss allegations, freshman congressman Richard Nixon played a prominent role in proving that the two men knew each other and that Hiss had perjured himself."

Quite a big part of history for such a little bird!

Thought you'd enjoy the story if you hadn't heard it already...

Steve

Nest Unattended for the first time since March

We could see it coming. Lola off the nest for increasing periods of time. Pale Male spelling her off, but not consistently. Now, in Donna's Field Notes of May 19 [below] it is clear that a new phase is setting in. For the first time the nest was left unattended for the night.

Readers have been writing to ask why the hawks are encountering more attacks from Kestrels, Crows, and other birds. I'd say this is happening because both Lola and Pale Male are far more available to attacks than when Lola spent most of the day quietly incubating on the nest, and Pale Male was hunting, or perched on different rooftops, watertowers etc, looking for prey. Now they are in the air more often, and in sight of watchers at the Hawk Bench. Thus more encounters with other birds are likely to be seen.
We saw many such encounters during the courtship period, when the hawks were in the air much of the time. Now we see these encounters again.

Field Notes 5-19-05

Sunset 8:11PM (NYT),
Temp. 71F,
Wind NNW 3-5MPH,
Humidity 41%,
Mostly sunny, w/cloud cover late afternoon,
Prey Tally-None reported.

All times PM unless otherwise noted.
3:45 Lola on Carlyle 1, Pale Male on nest.
3:58 Both hawks out of sight.
4:06 Pale Male to nest.
4:14 Lola lands on Oreo Grate.
4:20 Pale Male off nest, attacked by gull. Lola off
Oreo grate, chases gull off.  Pale Male back to nest,
Lola back to grate.
4:49 Pale Male looks through twigs alert to Ramble.
5:39 Lola off grate.
5:40 Lola to nest from S.
5:41 Pale Male off nest to N to end of Pond, then
toward Ramble.
5:42 Lola off nest, follows treeline N and W out of
sight.
5:?? Lola attacked by Kestral while on the Crows.    
6:05 Lola and Pale Male Linda 4.
6:06 Pale Male moves to the Lions window.
6:07 Lola leaves Linda and perches next to Pale Male
at the Lion window.
6:09 Lola preens, PM keeps glancing at her, she preens
shoulder, back, PM still alert but intermittantly
looking at her, she looks up and around, not at him
6:12 Pale Male to nest, lands left of center, stands
tail to Bench, looks fown to fifth, surveys territory,
triangulates to Bench, to MB Pond.  Lola preens tail,
scratches.
6:15 Lola up past 927,to N up Fifth into the Park.
6:19 Pale Male starts to settle in, straddles in , a
back and forth fluff, down head to N.
6:24 Gull over Carlyle and then NW.
6:37 Pale Male off nest.
6:47 Pale Male back to nest, lands on N end, watches
Fifth, surveys territory, looks W, works Beak, alert
to NW, settles Head to S.
6:54 Lola to Carlyle 4.
6:56 Lola off.
6:59 Lola to Carlyle 5.
7:06 Lola alert.
7:15 Pale Male alert
7:41 Lola off Carlyle toward Park.
7:43 Pale Male head completely visible, ALERT.
7:51 Lola discovered Oreo antenna.
7:55 Pale Male standing, triangulating, looks down at
Fifth.
8:06 Pale Male moves twig from rear of nest to front,
digs in concave, stands up in concave.
8:11 Lola to nest, Pale Male to linda 5.
8:12 Lola to linda 5,
8:13 Both to Top Lion Floor second window from N.
Lola N, PM in positions.
8:17 Both backs to Bench, Pale Male looks over
shoulder, Lola looks up, Pale Male works beak.
8:18 Both up and off Pale Male across MB Pond to N and
then W at Oreo and Lola to nest, stands.
8:19 Lola off nest low, N and into trees.
8:29 Nest untended, Exit.
Submitted-Donna Browne

Response to Blakeman

Yesterday's letter from John Blakeman discussing the failure of this year's nest provoked a large reader response. All the letters said, in one way or another, that the Ohio red-tail expert's discussion helped them deal with their sadness and disappointment about the nest. Here are two such responses:


Catherine A. Doyle: Well, as long as Pale Male and Lola are not sad and doing what comes naturally, then I'm happy.

Arlene Katz:

If you speak to John Blakeman please let him know I have found his commentary very enlightening and his reasoned rational manner extremely helpful in getting over my disappointment. After all, Mother Nature was not designed by Disney,

Blakeman on what's happening with Pale Male & Lola now

Photo by Lincoln Karim - 18 May 2005

Marie,

Donna Browne described for me some recent, somewhat strange behaviors. A bird was seen flying with dangling feet, and Lola was seen sitting on a perch previously used only for copulation. These all refer back to behaviors normally seen at the start of the reproductive season (in winter), not now. Here is the explanation I sent to Donna, and here, for others, too.

The recent observations of the descended feet, the sitting on copulation perches, and other behaviors that look back to February are, I believe, more "displacement" behaviors, a term used by ethologists (animal behaviorists) to describe actions that don't seem to fit some expected, normal animal behavior. Displacement responses usually are expressed when an animal, for whatever reason, can't respond specifically as it would prefer. Instead, it behaves in some unrelated way that nevertheless satisfies the animal's desire to give a deliberate response. None of this, of course, makes much sense to humans who always (huh?) act upon considered reason.

In the case of our hawks, expected behaviors are beginning to get very confused for the pair. The birds right now should be hunting and providing food for rapidly growing eyasses. But there are no eyasses to feed or protect. The nest is empty, but there are still hormonal stimuli to "do something." Dropping the legs and sitting on a copulation perch are both "somethings" that can be done. Futile and pointless, but these otherwise out of place behaviors satisfy non-cerebral impulses.

All of this, too, will subside as the heat of summer approaches, and more important, as the lengthening of daylight periods diminish. Not long from now, the hawks will no longer spend time at 927 Park Avenue. As reproductive hormones vanish, the birds will live lazy lives merely growing new feathers and eating whatever they wish in Central Park. For them, life will be exceptionally good, with virtually no concerns whatsoever. Would that each of us could live such a life, even for a period.

Don't anyone presume that the birds are anguished in any way by their reproductive failure this year. Those thoughts are mammalian in the highest forms, not avian whatsoever. For readers who wish to assign high human emotions and thoughts to the Central Park red-tails, my postings here have certainly been disappointing and disconcerting. For some, my viewpoints have not been helpful, I'm sure. But I have no personal objections whatsoever to the anthropomorphic viewpoints of anyone else. All of us have enjoyed following the exploits of the pair. Everyone is freely open to entertain personal, even quirky explanations for what has happened.

But as a biologist and falconer who has so closely worked with this great species for over 35 years, I prefer to explain these matters in a biological context. To assign human traits to these noble birds -- for me -- is to reduce them to an artificial caricature, a pair of feathered cartoon figures, as it were. For me, the authentic avian and raptor personalities of the hawks are so much more engaging. I'll expend my human analytic efforts solely on my own behaviors, a complex set of problems unto themselves. For the birds, they are just birds, albeit noble and regal ones at that. They are not models of human parents, nor even mammalian ones. They are red-tailed hawks, sufficient enough.

Have no concern for the pair's failure to reproduce this year. This happens frequently in nature, and they will try again next year, probably with resumed success. Revel in all that we've been able to experience. So few others can, especially in the heart of New York. Rejoice. Pale Male and Lola have no laments. Neither should we.

Sincerely,
John A. Blakeman

About Sexual Dimorphism

Photo by Cal Vornberger
Female Scarlet Tanager eating Insect

Yesterday, in my posting about Scarlet Tanagers, I couldn't resist making a crack about the less flashy female, who sports dull yellow plumage instead of the male's gorgeous red. My parenthetical comment was "It hardly seems fair."
Today one of this website's regular correspondents, Arlene Katz, writes

Subject: Couldn't resist pointing out that nature always brightly colors the non-essential member of the pair

Date:	Thu, 19 May 2005 08:26:41 -0400

Hi Marie,

Maybe it hardly seems fair but if I had a predator scanning the woods for me, I'd opt for subtlety!

Best,

Arlene

Summary of yesterday's Field Notes

The highpoints of today:
[5/18/05]

Pale Male and Lola were attacked by Kestrels and by Mockingbirds. Earlier in the day PM and L flew around with each other with talons down.? (See Lincoln's photo at palemale.com)What does that remind you of?
And later sat companionably on the Oreo antenna together. Rik and Sister Marlene reported that a young sparrow who had ended up in the MB Pond was able to "swim", paddle with wings and body movements to the side where Sis could fish him out. The Kestrels and Mockers attack at the same time. Ching reports that at 8:03 when Pale Male called for Lola from the nestshe didn't come. He took off, [one can anthropomorphisize to dig her up] and twenty minutes of empty nest later she flewto the nest at 8:30PM and settled in for the night.

Donna Browne

Today was another day of thrilling Scarlet Tanager sightings in Central Park. For those of you who don't have a chance to see these beautiful birds regularly, second best is to see these pictures by Cal Vornberger. Note that the female of the species is differently colored [sexual dimorphism], and note, also, that the male loses the red color in winter.

Photos by CAL VORNBERGER


Scarlet Tanager, Male


Another Scarlet Tanager


Scarlet Tanager, female [hardly seems fair]
Scarlet Tanager, male, winter

Blakeman re Panting-- and more discussion of what happened at the nest on April 17th

Every so often I clean out my mailbox and that is when I find letters that have fallen through the chinks. Here is such a one, from Karen Anne Kolling,dated April 21, 2005:

"Why, in the Field Notes, are Pale Male & Lola reported occasionally to be panting ? Is this heat-related?"

I remembered a previous letter from John Blakeman rejecting the possibility that extreme heat caused Lola to mantle the eggs in the nest on April 17th, the day we saw that behavi0r and thought that a chick had hatched. [Come to think of it, exactly a month ago from today!] When I brought up the extreme heat hypotheses, John noted that nobody had reported any panting. Now, coming across Karen Anne's question, I brought up the question again in an e-mail to John Blakeman. Here is my letter, and his response, which, I ought to say, finally convinced me that it was not the heat:

Dear John,

I was clearing out one of my e-mail mailboxes today and came across this question from a regular website correspondent. When you rejected my speculations that Lola's mantling on April 19th might have been egg-cooling occasioned by excessive heat I remember you said something about there being no reports of panting. Well, I think there have been such reports, as this note confirms. Also, I seem to remember seeing the female up there in the nest panting on very hot days in years past. You were assuming that when the temperature is, say, 85 degrees on street level it would be a bit cooler up there because of breezes. But if the sun is shining directly on the nest, and the air is very still, might it not be much, much hotter, indeed, broiling up there? I always thought so.

Marie


John replied:

Marie,

Red-tails parked out in the hot sun will pant, no doubt about that. They have dark, heat-absorbing feathers, and when perched in dead, hot air on sunny days, they will pant. Free birds then elect to soar into cool air, or perch in shaded tree vegetation. Incubating birds don't have a shaded alternative, and they just sit there and reduce internal body temperatures by panting.

But this panting is normal and minor. many times I've seen panting in red-tails resulting from excessive exertion, after prolonged hunting flights at fleeing prey on hot days. In this case, the mouth is widely gaped, with the tongue projecting upward and forward out of the mouth. That is the criterion for desperation panting. Was the tongue seen to be elevated and protruding? Or, was the mouth merely open and with only breathing contractions of the chest being seen? This is common on hot days in direct sun and does not indicate elevated body temperatures that could also be transmitted to eggs.

Even if Lola's body had elevated body temperatures, they could only have been a few degrees above the general 102-105 range, and this slight elevation would not directly elevate the egg temperatures. The only response needed by the hawk was to sit just slightly higher in the nest, reducing the surface area of the brood patch against the eggs.

There is no way the air up there was warmer than the eggs at near a hundred degrees. The only way this could have occurred would have been if the sun had heated the entire building surface below the nest and the air had risen directly through the nest. But because the nest was on the cornice, any rising air heated by direct contact with the building had to move around the sides and front of the cornice or curved ledge. Eddy currents would then form as the hot air moved over the roof rim, mixing in cooler air.

I can't conceive of conditions that would have elevated egg temperatures beyond normal incubation temps. All of the evidence I've seen still points to movements by a hatching egg that prompted the mantling, not inordinate nest temps.

How long did the mantling occur? If it was for a just moment or two, when there may have been a misunderstood prompt from the nest, causing the sitting bird to sit up and take a look. But when it did, it would have been back down on the eggs in just a minute or two as it perceived the eggs and/or young to be cooling without the brood patch contact.

There is no way the air temperature up there was around a 100 degrees. In fact, the building itself probably suppressed the air temperature at the nest. Yes, on a hot August day the stone of the building facade could become quite hot. But that's because it would have been in hot weather and sun for most of the summer. In April, the stone facing had just been at reasonably normal seasonal temperatures, retaining a cool spring thermal inertia. The seasonally cold stone easily absorbed the sun's heat without any significant warming. It takes a lot of joules of energy to heat thick, cold stone. A day or two of low April sunshine can't do much such stone building warming.

I'm still not convinced that the mantling behaviors resulted from elevated air temperatures. Mantling, and especially the direct peering into the nest cavity, all point to a hatched or broken egg that revealed movements by a little eyass. Parents never peer longingly at immobile eggs, only at things moving in the bottom of the nest.

I wish it weren't so, but all the evidence still points in the direction of a moving eyass in the nest, perhaps cracked out prematurely by the sitting parent who repeatedly kicked a metal prong that failed to respond in the manner of a normal stick.

Sincerely,

John A. Blakeman

Flashy Birds in the Ramble

Scarlet Tanager in Central Park
photo by Cal Vornberger

Still great birding in Central Park, though perhaps a little less variety and fewer numbers than yesterday. But the trifecta of Flashy Birds was won this morning by Steve Quinn's Anerican Museum of Natural History 7:00 a.m. walk: Scarlet Tanager, Rosebreasted Grosbeak and Baltimore Oriole. Add to that an Indigo Bunting, a number of Chestnut sided, Magnolia, Canada, Wilson's warblers, all seen from the ramparts of the Castle. Awe inspiring.

Attack of the Bumblebee --- Field Notes, 4/16/05

Donna Browne's Field Notes for yesterday  introduce  [at 4:30] a brand new menace:


Field Notes  5-16-05

Sunset 8:08PM (NYT),
Temp. Hi 69F
Mostly sunny,
Wind light,
Moon 1st quarter,
Prey Tally-None reported.

All times PM unless otherwise noted.
(A note about yesterday, at 8:18 Pale Male was still
sitting the nest, Ching reports Lola returned and Pale
Male off at 8:20.)
3:47 Pale Male on nest, Lola preens on Oreo Antenna.
4:10 Pale Male stands tail to Bench, preens chest,
pants, checks visual field.
4:13 Still preening.
4:14 Turns head to N, walks into nest, stands in
concave, pants, looks toward Boat House, settles deep.
4:16 Gull flies over Lola and Oreo.
4:17 Pale Male pears  through twigs to Boat House.
4:26 Lola preens on antenna, shoulder, high chest.
4:30 Pale Male stands, tail to bench, pants, preens
chest, pants, Bumblebee appears and buzzes PM, who
pants, watches bee, buzzed again, wing flap.
4:37 Pale Male deep in nest.
4:38 Lola off Orea to S past 927around back, circling
over and behind Woody, Carlyle, back over 927, lands
on Dr Fischer's, NW conrer of front top, not water
tower. Back to bench, but looking over shoulder toward
Pale Male, then looks down to 5th, pants.
4:41 Lola lands on nest.
4:43 Pale Male off, circling over Boat Pond higher and
higher, circles then tend to N over Cedar Hill.
4:44 Lola moves  twigs on rear of nest, checks visual
field, preens under tail.
4:45 Stands full up, watches W bound helicopter
without covering concave.
4:46 Lola still standing front of nest, Alert,
triangulates, looks down at Fifth, tenses to fly,
doesn't. Preens neck.
4:48 Looks at pigeons in front of Bench.
4:49 Cormarant arrives at MB Pond, gets small fish.
4:50 Lola, more triangulation.
4:55 Lola still front of nest, preens base of tail.
5:03 Lola up, circles and goes toward the NW.
5:12 Jean reports Pale Male to nest, stands, looks W,
rearranges twigs, settles.
5:27 Clare reports, Lola to Oreo Antenna.
6:03 Pale Male sits higher, rearranges more twigs,
Lola still preening on Oreo Antenna.
6:30 Exit.
8:03 Ching reports Pale Male relieved of nest at 8:03
by Lola.
Submitted-Donna Browne

Warbler Daze

Magnolia Warbler
photo by CAL VORNBERGER
May15, 2005

Of the 25 species of warbler reported yesterday [on the New York City Bird Report [www.NYCBirdreport.com] the Magnolia is one of the most beautiful. Luckily for most of us, the Magnolia is one of the more common warblers in the park, starting around now. Cal's photo gives a clue to a good identification shortcut --- the wide black and white bands of its tail. No other warbler has them. Below is the stunning list of yesterday's birds brom the NYCBR website:

	Double-crested Cormorant* Great Blue Heron* Great Egret* Snowy Egret* Green Heron* Black-crowned Night-Heron* Canada Goose* Wood Duck* Gadwall* American Black Duck* Mallard Red-tailed Hawk* American Kestrel* Peregrine Falcon* Solitary Sandpiper* Spotted Sandpiper* Laughing Gull* Ring-billed Gull Herring Gull* Great Black-backed Gull* Rock Pigeon Mourning Dove Yellow-billed Cuckoo* Common Nighthawk* Chimney Swift* Red-bellied Woodpecker* Downy Woodpecker* Hairy Woodpecker* Northern Flicker Olive-sided Flycatcher* Eastern Wood-Pewee* Yellow-bellied Flycatcher Least Flycatcher Great Crested Flycatcher Eastern Kingbird Blue-headed Vireo* Yellow-throated Vireo* Warbling Vireo Red-eyed Vireo* Blue Jay American Crow Tree Swallow* Northern Rough-winged Swallow* Barn Swallow* Tufted Titmouse* White-breasted Nuthatch* House Wren* Veery* Gray-cheeked Thrush* Bicknell's Thrush* 70% Swainson's Thrush* Hermit Thrush* Wood Thrush* American Robin Gray Catbird* Northern Mockingbird Brown Thrasher* European Starling Cedar Waxwing Blue-winged Warbler* Tennessee Warbler* Nashville Warbler* Northern Parula* Yellow Warbler* Chestnut-sided Warbler* Magnolia Warbler* Cape May Warbler* Black-throated Blue Warbler* Yellow-rumped Warbler* Black-throated Green Warbler* Blackburnian Warbler* Yellow-throated Warbler* (D) Prairie Warbler* Palm Warbler* (D) Bay-breasted Warbler* (D) Blackpoll Warbler* Black-and-white Warbler* American Redstart* Ovenbird* Northern Waterthrush* Common Yellowthroat* Hooded Warbler* (D) Wilson's Warbler* Canada Warbler* Scarlet Tanager* Eastern Towhee* (D) Chipping Sparrow* Field Sparrow* (D) Song Sparrow* Lincoln's Sparrow* Swamp Sparrow* White-throated Sparrow* Northern Cardinal Rose-breasted Grosbeak* Indigo Bunting* Red-winged Blackbird Common Grackle Brown-headed Cowbird* Baltimore Oriole* House Finch American Goldfinch House Sparrow 100 species (excluding hybrids and reported with full confidence)

Chills, Thrills and a Laugh -- Yesterday's Field Notes

The great thing about Donna's Field Notes is that you never know what she will choose to include, like, for instance, her deadpan notation for 4:20 p.m.

Note that Lola is spending increasing amounts of time off the nest. I think that girl knows her release from bondage is nigh.


Field Notes 5-15-05

Sunset 8:07 PM (NYT),
Temp. 73F,
Humidity 79%,
Partly cloudy, some rain,
Wind calm
Prey Tally-4 Robin nestlings

All times PM unless otherwise noted.

Alice reports that Pale Male was already on the nest
for this shift sometime before she arrived at 1:00.
3:48 Pale Male on nest, Lola Oreo antenna.
4:17 Lola up and toward Ramble from antenna, Pale Male
stands on nest, watches.
4:20 Man jumps in MB Pond fully clothed.
4:42 Lola discovered on right antenna of The Crows.
4:47 Pale Male stands on 927 nest, then off to
slightly N of bench, over and into Thornless Honey
Locust in area next to road.  Pale Male stands on
branch and Robin's nest, eats three nestlings, doesn't
twitch while mobbed by 13 Robins, one on branch
directly over his head.  Lola circles above 927 and
Woody.
4:49 Cormarant passes over.
4:56 Pale Male takes fourth nestling to adjacent tree,
prepares it.
5:00 Pale Male off tree with prey and circles above
area, Lola appears circling.
5:01 Pale Male circles over 927, Lola on nest.
5:03 Pale Male lands on nest gives prey to Lola, she
eats.
5:04 Pale Male off nest to N.
5:08 Lola off nest to N.
5:10 Pale Male arrives back at nest, stands, looks all
directions.
5:12 Pale Male begins to settle in concave, then up
and arranging concave.
5:13 Lola from Madison between 927 and Woody to Linda
1, back to bench, leaning over.
5:14 Pale Male on nest, gulls circle above Octogon.
5:15 Pale Male still looking S, Lola?
5:20 Lola to nest from Linda, stands in concave.
5:22 Pale Male off nest and perches Ship Shape top
railing, Gull above.
5:25 Pale Male up and circles Octogon and Ship Shape,
then perches railing of Ship Shape.
5:32 Lola stands on nest, head in concave, then
settles .
5:34 Lola stands, off nest.
5:35 Lola flies to Ship Shape and perches a foot to
the right of Pale Male.  They sit.
5:37 Lola up and to square end of Striped Awning
railing with tulips, on Woody. Back turned to Pale
Male. Pale Male has turned to watch her.
5:39 Lola up and circles between  Oreo and Stove Pipe.
5:41 Circles N of Oreo. Pale Male watches from railing
of Ship Shape, Lola lands on Oreo Grate.
5:42 Pale Male up and off Woody lands on nest, leans
head into concave then settles.
5:59 Pale Male far down in nest.
6:15 Lola still on Grate.
6:44 Lola up, perches on corner cornice near top of
Linda.
6:47 Lola moves to fence on roof between linda and
next S.
6:48 Lola to S corner of first cirved level of The
Crows, posterior to bench.
Offsite next exchange.
7:48 Lola leaves nest.
7:51 Pale Male arrives on nest.
8:18 Pale Male still on nest.
Exit
Submitted-Donna Browne

Blakeman on Lola's Molt

Lola over the Carlyle Hotel
photo by Lincoln Karim
May 14th, 2005

Just received an illuminating letter from John Blakeman commenting on the above photo:

Marie,

Lincoln's wonderful shot today of Lola above The Carlyle Hotel shows that she's begun her molt. Notice the slight hint of white and black barring on the feather in the middle of the wing. This is pattern normally hidden beneath an adjacent feather. The first long mid-wing feather has been dropped. Lola is now in the process of growing a new wardrobe. These missing-feather gaps will be seen all during the summer.

Sincerely,

--John A. Blakeman