Little Stick Hawk

Originally published February 29, 2016

This little hawk has been visiting Central Park for at least two weeks. The youngster hangs out around Strawberry Fields and the Bandshell, until chased out of those areas by the Beresford hawks. The hawk got the nickname because one day after getting harassed by blue jays and moving up several branches in a tree, he pulled off a small branch and flew to another tree, where he proceeded to flip it around with his talons, then wave it around in his beak. After several minutes of playing with the branch, he dropped it. You could almost read his mind as he looked down: "I dropped my stick. I dropped my stick. Now what?" His decision: to fly north over Bow Bridge, into the Ramble.

For more photos of Stick, visit the Red-Tailed Hawks page.

This Silly Video shows Stick from Feb. 3 through Feb. 23 as the youngster tries to survive in Central Park despite the blue jays and adult hawks that harass him. You can see how Stick got his name in the video on the Red-Tailed Hawks page.

Three More Sagas Have Been Added to the Archives!

Originally published February 2016

PM's Chronicler has been working hard to make sure that all the PM Sagas —  the exploits of the amazing Purple Monster and her North Pole and Christmas Monsterland crew — are available on this Web Site. I mean, really, that's the ultimate purpose of this site. Everything else is window dressing.

I have just added three early Sagas to the archive:

The Prodigal Elf, The PM Saga, Book VII, in which Clyde Elf, blinded by Hollywood stars, deserts the North Pole to seek fame and glory, only to dredge the depths of debauchery.




 

A Christmas Soap Opera: As the North Pole Spins, The PM Saga, Episode IX, in which a dastardly plot is perpetrated to kill the expectant purple parent-to-be, and we are introduced to the new progeny, Lapis Snowflake and Geranium Amethyst.

The Parable of the Lost Christmas Monsters, The PM Saga, Book X, in which the harried parents search for their wandering offspring, and we hear the legend of "The Doll With the Sad Eyes."

More Silly Videos

Christmas is very, very important to the Chronicler and this Web site. You can enjoy some Christmas memories from 2015 on the Merry Christmas 2015 page.  Especially nice is the letter Woody wrote to Santa Claus in the first video.

Speaking of Woody, you'll want to check out the Woody! Woody! Woody! page to keep up with him.

You can find the hawk Silly Videos on the Red-Tailed Hawks page. Other new videos have been added to the Another Silly Video by Susan Kirby collection on YouTube for you to enjoy.

One of the most popular has been The Painted Bunting in Prospect Park. It was followed by The Painted Bunting in Prospect Park: Another Look.

Another special video is The Swans of Prospect Park.

Reservoir Ducks II: The Sequel is the result of two years of walking around the Central Park Reservoir and documenting the ducks and other wildlife there. It is set to music by Respighi and Rossini.

Bird Bath, set to music by Telemann, features feathered friends splashing around in Central Park. Another, a video photo album, you can check out in the next section of this page.

My Little Chickadees features the delightful chickadees of Central Park flitting around to the music of Wagner's Ride of the Valkyries.

I've begun a subset of Another Silly Video, which for now I'm calling Filming the Feathers. The chickadee video above, though not titled as such, is a good example of what I'm trying to do: present individual types of birds in videos with photos. I hope to accompany most of these with music, chosen for the personality of the birds. Filming the Feathers: Yellow-Bellied Sapsuckers in Central Park is a truly silly video, set to Beethoven. I'm currently working on a cardinals video, and hope to post that soon.