STIMIED!: Reply from DEC

For the record, here's the note I e-mailed to Barbara Loucks at the DEC  yesterday, followed by the answer I just received.

I'm not going to write Loucks back -- I know futility when I see it -- but I must say that the words "possibility of a renest" , after our experiences of the last two years, seem extremely odd.

[I will post the entire correspondence, including the "earlier lengthy e-mail" as soon as I have time. ]

Dear Barbara,
Everybody in the Central Park birding community was happy to hear that the eggs would be retrieved on Wed, 5/16. I wonder if I may report back to them that the eggs were, indeed, retrieved yesterday.
Thanks again for all your efforts.
Marie Winn

Here's the reply: Received today 5/18/07 - around 1 pm

The eggs were not retrieved due to the adult sitting tight.(Last year they were not around when we collected them). We are not going to push a bird off if there is any possibility of a renest; although this might not be the case, that was our decision. Chris will try to collect the eggs a bit later.( I have been out in the field and was going to email you today. Due to the fact that you seem to have been in touch with Ward I thought he might have told you by now).

 I do not have time to respond  in full to your earlier lengthy email, since my job/time is to deal with endangered/threatened species, but I will  reiterate that I feel from having seen the nest and cradle/pigeon spikes up close that neither have anything to do with the birds' failure, and that the fertility of the adults/ "conclusive answers " can not necessarily be judged/gotten based on the eggs alone. Unfortunately in some situations like this one, the point comes when it may be best to accept the fact that nature will take its course, whatever that may be. Again, we may never have all the answers, no matter how much money we spend on egg analysis.

  We are not planning on being involved with any egg removals in future years at this site. Hopefully the pair at this site will produce at some time in the future.