The other day I came out of plant science to go to dinner like any other day and while I was unlocking my bike noticed a man standing 50 feet alone behind me looking up at the plant science building and seemed to be talking to someone else. Slightly perplexed, I hopped on my bike, glanced back to the building and seeing nothing amiss, prepared to leave. I didn't get far before finding a woman also staring at the building from another vantage point. Turns out that they were looking a red-tailed hawk perched on top of plant science. She told me that her name was Big Red, that her mate (Ezra) had recently passed away, and that she had not been seen on the Ag quad for a while although her nest was nearby. After a few minutes of admiring the bird perched calmly on the roof, I was on my way back to the hubbub of a freshman dining hall.
 |
| Here's an incredibly high quality photo of Big Red surveying the Ag Quad on top of Plant Science. |
In this urban environment, most of the animals have adapted to life in proximity to humans and Big Red is no different. Her nest is located on Fernow Hall, as opposed to a tree in a more "natural" setting. Human activities have opened up nearby woodlands giving her places to hunt the healthy squirrel and rabbit population that is no doubt benefiting off our activities such as the lush lawns and food scraps. In a way the wildlife here is not even truly wild; they have all experienced the human hand in some way. We watch Big Red's nest with webcams. Ezra was euthanized after being brought in with a severe wing fracture and identified by his tag number. What we have here are the organisms that can tolerate or take advantage of the changes that we bring about.
 |
| Big Red back at her nest courtesy of the Cornell Lab of Orinthology's Cornell Hawks twitter account. |
No comments:
Post a Comment