Hipsters of McCarren Park (and rodents, pigeons, etc.), they are watching you like hawks. Literally. A GL reader and occasional contributor sent in a series of photos of one of the hawks that have taken up residence in everyone’s favorite Williamburg-Greenpoint Park. She writes:
I would imagine it spooking our dear hipsters but thought it might interest you to see that we are being watched from above. I took these terrible pics of a beautiful Hawk/Falcon while walking through McCarren Park this morning and he’s probably camping out in the nabe. I certainly hope no harm will come to him but I’m sure he’s getting his share of rats to eat.
Or, possibly, a baguette or a nice sandwich from Urban Rustic. Watch those little pocket dogs, friends.
6 responses so far ↓
1 bk // Dec 4, 2008 at 10:58 am
The hawks (there are two, a mother and child), have been living there for a couple of years. I saw the mama take out a squirrel a while back. They have a myspace page!
http://www.myspace.com/mccarrenparkhawk
2 Jimmy Legs // Dec 4, 2008 at 11:02 am
probably a peregrine but possibly a merlin falcon!
3 Shawn // Dec 4, 2008 at 11:45 am
I’m pretty sure this photo is an immature red tail whose tail hasn’t turned red yet. I have seen red tails in McCarren park on and off for years.
4 Rob // Dec 4, 2008 at 4:27 pm
Nice photos. Definitely a juvenile Red-tailed Hawk. There are lots of nesting pairs around the 5 boroughs, so it’s anyone’s guess where this one originated. I haven’t seen Prospect Park’s 2008 youngsters in a while, so maybe they’ve branched out. FYI – it takes 2 years for their tail to turn red.
5 Rachel // Dec 4, 2008 at 6:31 pm
More NYC red-tails: http://www.fordham.edu/politicalsci/profs/fleisher/NYC_hawks.html.
And here’s info on some of the City’s peregrine falcons (which have black heads): http://www.55water.com/falcons/.
6 NY NEWS | // Dec 6, 2008 at 4:22 am
[…] Some hawks have become permanent squatters in Wiliamsburg hipster haven McCarren Park. They are very disaffected, just sort of loitering there on their skinny legs and silently judging you. One of them has a flatly worded MySpace page: “i am a red-tailed hawk and i hang out in mccarren park … all i have to do is show up and people start taking my picture. i am becoming very famous.” The hawk affectless-ly denied the copy was cribbed from Paris Hilton’s MySpace page circa 2001. [Gowanus Lounge] […]