The Bwog
BREAKING: Hawkmadinejads Abound

It's time to get the story straight. Our Hero Hawkmadinejad, christened and courted with gads of sightings over the course of last school year, proved pervasive and rather uncanny. Commenters squinted at his tail feathers as they seemed to shift from brown to red and then to brown again - rather strange for a red-tailed hawk that only molts in its red retrices once. Something was up with our fair feathered friend.

So here we have it: the truth. From birder and blogger Bruce Yolton,

"I would say Columbia has a juvenile hawk and two adults right now, plus the two fledglings which will begin exploring the campus later this summer."

I know, I know, it's shocking to think that Our Hero is, well, rather of the poly-faceted sort, but there you have it. We've got a juvi that will probably molt to his/her red tail feathers this coming spring. Then there are a couple of hawks that have shacked up at St. John the Divine and made two beautiful eyases. We've been sighting the former three hawks and calling them one.

But there is hope. The juvi, still unnamed, has been called "Hawkmadinejad" by a few bird bloggers in the neighbirdhood - it could become that bird's official name, or at least the alter ego of "Norman". And the spirit of the thing remains: our juvi Hero will be arriving down from upstate, where he probably summered, and begin tearing squirrels to shreds around midterm time. The Divine pair are still over at the church, pooping all over the gargoyles and saints - albino peacocks beware! And we'll be watching it all, camera phones in hand.

Send sightings of and writings on Hawkmadinejad to hawkmadinejad@gmail.com


Posted by (a haiku): #1 · reply · track
September 3, 2008 at 12:07 PM (from campus)
Hawkmadinejad

Once you were just one, now three

Hawkmadinejads.
Posted by it seems : #2 · reply · track
September 3, 2008 at 12:54 PM (from campus)
that there is a logical progression here: though the discussion of red-tailed hawks and the amazing ways they rid our campus of vermin should still be under the heading of "hawkmadinejad,"

the two older ones may need some distinguishing: hawkmadinehen, henmadinejad, or hawkmadinemom; & hawkmadinecock, cockmadinejad (personal favorite), or hawkmadinepop.

Posted by Names: #3 · reply · track
September 3, 2008 at 1:13 PM (from campus)
Should be plays on other evil dictators, like Saddam Hawksain, or Fedtail Castro.
Posted by hmmm: #4 · reply · track
September 3, 2008 at 1:21 PM (from campus)
The problem is that there are no more squirrels any more. Hawkma needs to focus on the pigeons and rats.
Posted by rab2148: #5 · reply · track
September 3, 2008 at 1:46 PM (from campus)
Can one of them be "Haawkashvili"?
Posted by Stork: #6 · reply · track
September 3, 2008 at 5:01 PM (from campus)
This has nothing to do with our hero, but I was just thinking that Sarah Palin should name her next child Bwog.

And while we're at it, I put in my vote for 'Fedtail Castro' for one of our neighborhood fledglings.
Posted by one vote from me!: #7 · reply · track
September 3, 2008 at 6:21 PM (from campus)
one vote for feddtail castro as well!

Haawkashvili sounds good too.
Posted by funny stuff: #8 · reply · track
September 3, 2008 at 9:37 PM
haha This is a hillarious article! nice work.
Posted by aluuuum: #9 · reply · track
September 5, 2008 at 1:07 AM
University of Havana-North starring Fedtail Castro.

Lerner Hall 10/9/2008

see email for lottery soon!
Posted by omg: #10 (in reply to #9) · reply · track
September 5, 2008 at 1:44 PM (from campus)
Will you be able to anticipate all the traffic you'll be getting, or will Columbia's incompetence once again come on top?
Posted by birder: #11 · reply · track
September 7, 2008 at 11:00 PM (from campus)
i think the pair at st. john already have names - tristan and isolde.
Posted by kjr: #12 · reply · track
September 26, 2008 at 10:57 AM
Tristan and Isolde nested together at St. John's for a few successful years, but this spring Tristan presumably died (last seen injured in Morningside Park) and then a new male (Norman) quickly took Tristan's place with Isolde (scandalous!).
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