Getting ready

Photo by Lincoln Karim

Lincoln posted this remarkable picture on his website today. Taken on Sunday, December 18, 2005. It shows Lola removing a large egg fragment from the Fifth Avenue nest. It must be one of the eggs that didn't hatch last April. [There's a close-up on the palemale.com website showing the egg more clearly than in the version above.]

Yes, it breaks our hearts to recognize that those eggs didn't hatch because of the willful and arrogant behavior of the powers-that-be at 927 Fifth Ave. who had the nest torn down on December 7, 2004. As we all know their act raised the city's anger, and ultimately caused the building's Board of Directors to put up a new structure that would enable the hawk pair to rebuild their nest.

To me, Lincoln's photo is not only heartbreaking; it is also hopeful. It tells me that preparations are under way for a new breeding season. Soon, as the days get longer, our hawk friends will begin adding new sticks to the nest . We hope that with an additional layer the eggs will have a more solid resting place. We hope that 2006 will be a chick-full year for Pale Male and Lola.