Free Republic

July 14, 2007 -- The Upper East Side's beloved hawk, Pale Male, was the target of a cruel attack yesterday when a construction worker pummeled him with rocks - and now bird lovers are fearing for Pale Male's life. The famous fowl was struck and likely wounded with at least one thrown object in an incident that one steamed cop called "a crime against nature." Witnesses said the bird was perched on a piece of masonry on an upper floor of 1040 Fifth Avenue at E. 85th St. at 3 p.m. when the worker, standing on the roof above, started...

AP - Wed Dec 27, 7:46 PM ET A bald eagle carries a fish in its talons over New York Citys Central Park, Wednesday, Dec. 27, 2006. The eagles flight didnt go unnoticed by Pale Male, the famed red-tailed hawk of Central Park, who was perched on the 22nd floor of the Beresford apartment building as the eagle flew by. 'Pale Male usually sits there sort of relaxed, but he sat up straight when he saw the bald eagle,' said Lincoln Karim, the man whose photographic chronicle made Pale Male and his mate Lola famous. Karim is an Associated...

Somewhere in America today, a child is going hungry while well-meaning people go to great lengths trying to save oiled Alaska birds destined to die shortly anyway. Why? Because rescuing these birds makes some people feel better about themselves. Because rescuing these birds makes them think they're doing something to benefit the environment. There is no doubt the intentions of bird rescuers are good. The reality, though, is that oiled-bird rescuers and the people who back them are little different from the people who take in stray cats and dogs by the dozens, sometimes hundreds, until they are overwhelmed. They...

There's no place like home for the holidays - for Pale Male and Lola, too. The majestic red-tailed hawks, evicted two weeks ago from their nest on the 12th-floor ledge of a ritzy Fifth Ave. co-op, were welcomed back yesterday. Workers installed a 300-pound, stainless steel basket above the 12th-floor cornice of 927 Fifth Ave., which officials hope the birds will use as a foundation for a new nest. "It's the miracle of 74th St.," New York City Audubon Society Director E.J. McAdams said yesterday before a jubilant crowd of 50 bird watchers. "The grass-roots support for Pale Male and...

The Manhattan apartment building that ran afoul of bird lovers when it evicted the red-tailed hawk known as Pale Male began restoring his nest on Wednesday as one of the bird's staunchest supporters faced harassment charges. Lincoln Karim, 43, who runs the Web site www.palemale.com and battled in recent days to have the nest restored, appeared in court accused of accosting CNN anchorwoman Paula Zahn, her husband, Richard Cohen, who heads the building's co-op board, and their two children. Bird lovers, including Karim, have gathered outside the ritzy Upper East Side building for the past week, staging noisy protests to...

Mary Tyler Moore has been pecking at her co-op board and neighbors for evicting the renowned hawks from her posh Fifth Avenue building — but yesterday they crowed back, accusing her of orchestrating the pro-bird campaign as a personal vendetta. "She has a big ax to grind," said a board source. "A lot of her activism is bent on vengeance after the co-op board turned down a potential buyer for her apartment." Moore was the most vociferous of the residents of 927 Fifth Ave. to oppose the board's decision to take down Pale Male and Lola's nest, even joining the...

Booted Pale Male dines on squab before retiring to new digs at the nearby Carlyle. Homeless hawk Pale Male has checked into the Carlyle. The red-tailed raptor bounced from his nest by rich birdbrains at a Fifth Ave. co-op was seen roosting yesterday on the roof of the swank hotel, which was happy to have him. "He's very welcome, but has yet to order room service," quipped James McBride, manager of the Madison Ave. hotel, where penthouse suites go for $1,500 a night. Despite the opulent surroundings, Pale Male seemed to be pining for home sweet home. Throughout the day,...

Paula Zahn's husband is the co-op president.