Migrating Hawks Running Into Trouble Through New York City
NEW YORK (CBSNewYork) - Bird watchers are in hawk heaven.
A number of hawks have been sighted around New York City in the last few days, reports CBS2's Dave Carlin.
One was spotted yesterday perched on an air conditioner in Harlem, another foraging for food at ground level in Kips Bay.
A hawk was briefly in the custody of the NYPD on Wednesday after it set off a burglary alarm in Queens.
In one case a Queens Uber driver risked his own safety to rescue a hawk spotted injured on FDR Drive.
On Nov. 14, 58-year-old Kasim Eldilemi was driving a man to Brooklyn southbound from Manhattan to Brooklyn when he saw the 1-year-old hurt hawk on the FDR near 92nd Street.
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He put on the flashers, stopped and rescued it, bravely clutching it with bare hands and careful to keep away from the talons that could rip his skin to shreds.
The hawk was lucky because Eldilemi had skills honed in his native Iraq when he spent his teen years caring for birds including a sick hawk.
After dropping off his passenger and he flagged down two Brooklyn cops.
They caged the hawk and brought it to the Wild Bird Fund location on the Upper West Side.
Bird Expert Rita McMahon says November is a when Hawks are passing though around New York and they tangle with many of our urban obstacles as they migrate.
She is very glad Eldilemi knew what he was doing around this tough type of bird, who said he would do it again in a heartbeat.
"Any kind of bird, I take care of it," said Eldilemi.