Posted on 12/12/2004 8:33:21 PM PST by Anti-Bubba182
NEW YORK - Incensed New York bird lovers intensified their protests on Saturday outside the ritzy Upper East Side apartment building that removed the nest of famed red-tailed hawk, Pale Male, even as meetings were set to discuss bringing back the hawk's home.
Holdings signs saying "Protect Family Values, Bring Back the Nest" and "Honk for the Hawks," the crowd chanted "Bring back the nest!" and elicited raucous honks from buses, taxis and cars.
It was the fourth day of protests outside the building, which on Tuesday abruptly took down the hawk's nest and metal spikes that supported it.
John Flicker, president of the National Audubon Society, said the conservationist group would meet with the building's management on Monday to ask the metal spikes be returned. So far, Pale Male's attempts at rebuilding have been futile.
"The whole city has fallen in love with these birds," Flicker said. "We want the spikes back in place."
Pale Male became a local attraction in 1993 when he built his nest on a window cornice 12 stories above Central Park. Metal spikes, which were supposed to deter pigeons, provided support for the nest and protection from the wind.
The hawk inspired a book, a documentary, and fans that watched Pale Male and his mates raise more than 20 chicks.
The exclusive building said the nest was removed because it posed a safety and health issue.
Actress Mary Tyler Moore, who lives in the same building as the hawk, said earlier this week:
"I am just amazed at the insensitivity ... of people who have torn away a nest that had been used for 10 years by an extraordinary red-tail hawk."
Moore attributed the decision to complaints over "the occasional bird droppings" that the hawks produced.
Hawk supporters promised "guerrilla" tactics to bring back the nest, and Web sites posted the names of building residents, including Richard Cohen, husband of newscaster Paula Zahn.
Protester Melodie Bryant said the building made a mistake angering bird watchers, who are well-known for waiting days or years to catch a glimpse of a rare bird.
"Don't try and wear out a bird watcher with patience," she said. "We'll wait for hours."
Another protest was scheduled for Sunday.
I think it was rather "hawkish" of the Hotel owner to do such a dastardly thing. I liked the documentary about these hawks on the Discovery Channel. It was very interesting, but it goes to show that these endangered species along with the bald eagle are not deterred by manmade structures and can adapt as easily as man can. Why don't they build the hawks a nest in Central Park so that bird watchers and bird lovers can continue to watch these magnificent birds in the middle of New York City.
Andrea Peyser in the New York Post talked to a co-op employee who wished to remain anonymous, and he said the real reason they did it had nothing to do with health or bird droppings or building damage. It was the telescopes. The snooty swells in that building were nervous about all the telescopes trained on the building by hawk watchers because they thought the hoi-polloi might be spying on their regal lives through the windows. As if I'd want to see yet another coked-up, anorexic New York heiress having sex with a drunken stranger when I could be looking at something pleasant and attractive, like a red-tailed hawk.
I heard that too. The delicious part is that every weirdo on planet earth now knows where they live and sees them in a negative way.
Well it appears the snooty residents have a problem with math, and underdeveloped political skills. The bird is 15 years old.
The life expectancy of said bird is between 10 and 15 years.
Do nothing, and the problem resolves itself in a year or two without any nasty blowback. Now the dumb bastards are going to have to deal with making a senior citizen homeless, in the twilight of his years. Now they'll have to build a nest, and fish for "Son of Pale Male" to occupy it for 15 more years. Good. I'll bet the smartest residents of the building didn't learn a damned thing from the experience either. Just rename the building "Liberals R Us."
Hint: People on the West Side have powerful telescopes that can see clearly across the park. People on the East Side do the same. The telescope battle between east and west has been going on for decades.
Who'd want to look at those scumbags through a telescope? They just get uglier the closer up you see them. (The humans, that is...).
I don't see what the problem is with the hawks... here near my home, the ospreys started nesting on the power poles and causing electrical problems. So the power company built nest platforms on top of the poles and now everybody is happy. What's the matter with those Spew Yuck highrise dwellers?
(Don't bother answering that question...)
Limbaugh covered this thoroughly last week.
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