Red Tail Hawks to Soon Vacate Boro Park, as Chicks Mature

 By Yehudit Garmaise

     The FDNY cannot do anything at all to remove the two red tail hawks that have been swooping down and attacking Boro Parkers around 14th Avenue and 46th Street because the birds are an endangered species, said Yanky Meyer, the founder of Misaskim, who met with FDNY Deputy Assistant Chief Joseph Ferrante Jr., to try to determine how they could remove the bird to greener pastures.

     “Chief Ferrente, who, since April 12, has been fielding many calls of complaint about the birds, has been trying to do the right thing because this bird has been a menace,” Mr. Meyer said. “We thanked the fire department because it tried to do the right thing for the community. They don’t want anyone getting hurt, but, legally, they can’t do anything about the bird because red-tail hawks are endangered species.

     “The FDNY is trying their best, but they are limited as to what they can do.”

     In a meeting at 14th Avenue and 46th Street that took place today so that community members could assess the situation and to try to come up with a plan of action to remove the birds, a resident joked with Chief Ferrente that if the red tail hawk were a kosher bird, people in the community would “take care of it.”

     Does that mean by shaliach haken or schechting? BoroPark24 asked.

    “Either/or,” said Mr. Meyer, with a laugh.

    The female hawk, which was protectively brooding her eggs, often sat on a nest on a fire escape, as the father of her chicks proudly perched protectively nearby, on lookout.

    The birds’ eggs have hatched into chicks, however the mother and father hawk remain protective, as they nurture their young, which are very small, fragile, and vulnerable.  

    Mr. Meyer theorized that kids in the building might have found the mother bird on the fire escape and bothered it, which triggered the bird’s fierce protective instinct to protect her young.

   “The birds probably felt threatened, so they swooped down and did whatever they did,” Mr. Meyer explained, who added that mother and father birds stay protective of their chicks, until they are able to live on their own, after they are six weeks old, which is now two weeks away.

     “Now, our plan is just a waiting game,” Mr. Meyer said. “There are two chicks in the birds’ nest. Once they grow up, the nest will empty out.”

      The Fire Department wanted us to get the word out, “Tell people to stay away from the birds for a couple weeks,” Mr. Meyer said. “Try not to get anywhere close to it because if they feel threatened, they are going to attack.”

   “These are not crazy birds that are trying to hurt people; they are only swooping down because they feels threatened.

   “Boro Parkers need to know: Leave the birds alone, and they will leave you alone.”

    Another witness confirmed: "A hawk is never going to attack a human being for no reason.

   "The only reason that hawks attack are beacuse they feel a threat to themselves or to their babies. So, if birds have a nest, and someone goes near it, those birds are going to attack you, and it is very dangerous.

    "So, instead of calling the cops and the fire department, residents should take care to stay away from the hawks and their nest."