Kelley describes how Junior rustled up a baby's dinner

I first met Kelley Harrison  last April at a Screech Owl fly-out in the north part of the park. Now she has become a regular follower of the Trump Parc family. Here's her report on yesterday  [8/1/05] evening's hunt and food delivery:

Dear Marie:

I had the privilege of witnessing Junior rustle up
dinner for his young son last night.  I was peeping
through the chain-link fence last night trying to spot
Big in the construction site.  Junior flew over my
head and swooping down very low landed on a pigeon
behind the bleachers on Heckscher Ballfield #4 where a
noisy game was in progress.  The pigeon never saw what
hit him.  Junior stood on the pigeon for several
seconds and then carried it to a nearby tree for the
"death squeeze."  I was dismayed that after two
minutes the pigeon was still flapping its wings, a few
pecks of Junior's beak to the back of its neck and it
was limp.

Junior flew over the construction site and towards the
tree where Little's crying was attracting a large
number of viewers. After Junior was sure that the meal
was going in Little's tummy and not on the sidewalk,
he flew out of the park towards Columbus Circle.  Many
people stopped to admire Little's healthy appetite.
After twenty minutes a bone fell to the sidewalk,
further inspection showed it to be a breast bone
without a speck of meat left on it.  Little plucked,
nibbled, and choked down the pigeon for more than 45
minutes.  He is a proud member of the Clean Plate
Club.  His crop was so full it looked like he had
swallowed an orange.

When I exited the park at Columbus Circle, I saw
Junior and Charlotte spending some quality time
together.  The light was fading fast and it was
impossible to see who was who.  I believe Junior was
the first one to perch on the very pointy finial of
the water tower above Starbucks at 60th and Broadway.
This is one of their favorite perches.  Charlotte and
Junior tussled over who got to be King of the
Mountain.  Unbelievably for several seconds they both
clung to the very tiny tip.  Eventually the "loser"
had to perch on the rim of the water tower.  After a
few minutes the "King" flew off and the "loser"  got a
turn at the top.  Around 8:25 after much soaring over
Columbus Circle one of the parents, probably Junior,
disappeared behind the Green Glass building.  I waited
a short time but never saw him fly back to the park.
Could it be that he has not given up the bright lights
of the big city for the quiet darkness of Central Park
for his nightly roost?

Kelley Harrison