Pale Male - Other Red-tailed Hawks in And Around Central Park

Other Red-tailed Hawks in And Around Central Park

At the south end of the park, a hawk couple dubbed Pale Male Junior (or just Junior) and Charlotte nested on the Trump Park hotel on Central Park South in 2005 and successfully raised two eyasses. In 2007, they moved their nest to a building on Seventh Avenue at 57th Street (two blocks south of the park) and raised one eyass. Junior and Charlotte may often be found in the vicinity of the Time Warner Center on Columbus Circle, at the southwest corner of the park. Junior's first attempt at nesting on Trump Park was in March 2002. This was with a different female and all attempts at the site failed until his success in 2005.

A hawk couple known as Tristan and Isolde claimed Central Park's Great Hill and North Wood as their territory, but their nest was located about four blocks from the park at the Cathedral of St. John the Divine, overlooking Morningside Park. They successfully raised two eyasses in 2006 and three in 2007.

The Central Park Christmas Bird Count held December 17, 2006, determined that there were probably ten Red-tailed Hawks in the park that day, but it was expected that the extra four hawks would be driven off once the 2007 mating season began. It is common for two or three immature Red-tails, and sometimes an unattached adult, to winter in the park before departing in the spring.

In recent years, many more Red-tailed Hawks have taken up residence in New York City. A 2007 study commissioned by the Audubon Society reported that pairs of Red-tails were spotted breeding in nests at 32 locations throughout the city, and hawk watchers say they have spotted dozens of unattached Red-tails across the five boroughs. Relatively small green spaces about the city, such as the main Columbia University campus, or Riverside Park, may attract a transient hawk who stays for a few days or months.