down here below

So this is the time of year when birds descend en masse to our part of the country. Migration is upon us. At times there are so many that they darken the sky.

This is the only time of year that we may have robin red breasts around. I say "may" because I haven't seen them every single year; at least not in my neighborhood. I don't even think they stay here for any extended period but, rather, just pass through on their journey further south. That's my theory anyway. I've never researched it though.

The peregrine falcon migrates in, too, and it has arrived. Just look at its beauty.

Peregrines are the world's fastest birds. They can tuck their wings and dive at speeds of about 200 mph. You cannot even believe the speed, the accuracy and the beauty of these birds in flight.

Once on the endangered list, they have recovered and continue to thrive. They are monogamous raptors at the top of their food chain and have adapted well to urban living. The city's structures are preferred haunts for hunting, flying and diving because they simulate canyon walls and mountain ranges. They've also adapted well to nesting in the sky scrapers.

This is great news for their survival but I find it so sad. Very disturbing.

Another hawk that does well in the urban environment is the Red-tailed hawk. The non-fiction book, Red-Tails in Love: A Wildlife Drama in Central Park (by Marie Winn) made Pale Male, a Red-tailed Hawk in New York, famous.

Now Steve Earle raises his infamy to a whole 'nother level by having a song about him entitled Down Here Below on his latest release, Washington Square Serenade:

Pale male, the famous redtail hawk, performs wingstands high above midtown Manhattan
Circles around for one last pass over the park
Got his eye on a fat squirrel down there and a couple of pigeons
They got no place to run, they got no place to hide

But pale male he’s cool, see ‘cause his breakfast ain’t goin’ nowhere
So he does a loop t loop for the tourists and the six o’clock news
Got him a penthouse view from the tip-top of the food chain, boys
He looks up and down on Fifth Avenue and says,
“God, I love this town.”