[
Photo by Drew Heffron]
Last night, residents on Seventh Street between Avenue B and Avenue C noticed that a hawk was trapped in the airshaft between buildings on the block.
[
Photo by Drew Heffron]
After a few emails that included
Goggla, it was determined that this was Christo, the male resident red-tailed hawk of Tompkins Square Park. Christo was
likely chasing a pigeon when he found himself unable to get back out. (His wingspan made it impossible to navigate the tight quarters.)
[
Photo via @younglr]
After a few rescue attempts, one of the building's vigilant residents was able to track down Ranger Rob (
aka Rob Mastrianni, a Manhattan Ranger supervisor). Turns out that Ranger Rob, who is also a musician, was performing at Caravan of Dreams on Sixth Street between Avenue A and First Avenue.
Ranger Rob arrived and had to figure out the best way to get to Christo (he also shared the photos below) ...
"It was a bit scary climbing into that space between the buildings," he told me. "Luckily someone let me in the basement and I climbed through a window."
And soon, Ranger Rob emerged with Christo...
"Christo was fierce, strong and had no signs of injury or sickness," said Ranger Rob, who brought Christo back to Tompkins Square Park. (Before releasing Christo, he spoke by phone with Bobby Horvath of the Long Island-based
WINORR, the Wildlife In Need of Rescue and Rehabilitation, who helped him determine if the hawk was OK.)
Meanwhile, this morning, Steven saw Christo and Amelia — they are both doing
well as mating season continues... these three photos are by Steven...