Charles and Charlotte

Charles

Yesterday one hundred and twenty-five or so people showed up for the Charles Kennedy celebration at the Model-boat Pond. Three hawks were also in attendence. Two, as you can see from Donna's Field Notes below, were old friends -- Pale Male and Lola -- lending their majestic authority to the festivities from various rooftops on Fifth Ave. [See 8:24 p.m.] The third, an old friend of Charles Kennedy's, was Thorndyke, a sixteen-year-old one-winged Red-tailed Hawk from the Raptor Trust,, who was brought by another old friend of Charles's, Len Soucy. Thorndyke seemed to enjoy the party immensely, while all the neighborhood birds went berserk in various surrounding trees and bushes, emitting the same raucous alarm chips we have come to recognize as signals of a nearby hawk presence.

The food was fabulous [church supper style], the Cupcake Cafe cake, decorated with many of Charles's favorite critters -- a dragonfly, spider, cicada, a sexy pair of slugs, a prothonotary warbler [Charles's email address was Prothonotary@AOL.com] and a fine buttercream image of Pale Male, of course, was beyond the beyond in deliciousness. Many a diet went out the window at about 7 p.m. last night. Speeches were made, anecdotes were anecdoted, and a red-tailed hawk received a name.

Charlotte

Charlotte and chicks
photo by LINCOLN KARIM - 6/7/05

There has been a steady debate about what to call Pale Male Jr.'s mate, the dark-headed female currently feeding two chicks on the 35th floor of the Trump Parc hotel on Central Park South. Many names have been bandied about -- Dark Lady, Godiva, Mocha, Shady Lady, Dark Bonnet. Finally Donna had an idea which everyone welcomed at once. Let's name her after Charles!

And so it came to pass. Mrs. Pale Male Jr. was ceremoniously, though in absentia, dubbed Charlotte. Whenever we see this beautiful hawk we will think of Charles, ever a free spirit, ever our friend and inspiration, now flying somewhere in the ether, or beyond.



Donna's Field Notes 6-7-05

Sunset 8:26PM (NYT),
Temp. 86F,
High humidity,
Sun and patchy clouds,
Wind- mostly calm.

All times PM unless otherwise noted.

Pale Male arrived fashionably late for Charles
Memorial Celebration and he remained in view for the
entire party.

5:17 Pale Male perches on Oreo antenna.
6:10 Lola perches on Stovepipe.
7:55 Lola has moved to Oreo antenna, Pale Male
circles, returns, copulation.
7:58 They sit very close to each other on the antenna.
8:07 Still on antenna, Lola preens, Pale Male alert.
8:23 Pale Male up and to NW.
8:24 Pale Male circles back to Lola, copulation.
8:25 They sit together, Lola preens.
8:28 Pale Male up and toward Ramble.
8:35 Lola up and SW above MBP, then treeline, then
veers down W to roost tree across transverse.

8:57 Exit.

Submitted-Donna Browne