Ornithologist-about-town Jon Hill sends along the remains of the meal.

A student project at Temple reveals that our fearsome bird is now terrorizing Philadelphia.

The hawkmadinebwog has been a little slow with no sign of Hawkma - until earlier today! Thanks to Nick and Annie for the tips and pics. Our beautiful buteo was perched between Low and St. Paul's in the afternoon. The pictures are from an iphone, but it is clearly our bird. Maybe she is back to stay with the warmer weather and breeding season well under way.

One more picture after the jump.

- Photo courtesy of Rob Stenson

Even without any recent appearances from our dear avian friend, the Hawkmadinebwog soldiers on. Check out the latest posts.

Pretty red cardinals snuggle in the nooks of St. Paul's chapel to stay warm.

NYC bird guru Yojimbot and Hawk blog editor Courtney Doud see tons of cool birds in the neighborhood.

In installment 2 of their adventures, Yojimbot reveals that our Hawkma(s?) may also go by the name "the cathedral pair," and we should hope for Hawkma-lings!

And Walt Whitman on the ways of bird love, to impress that special someone.

It has been tough for Hawkmadinebwog editor Courtney Douds these past few weeks with no signs of Hawkma. Read about her outing with Yojimbot and be reassured that raptors barely blocks away from Columbia are thriving in abundance - it is only a matter of time before one of them comes back to school.

Those of you who read the Hawkmadinebwog may be familiar with another blog about avian wildlife in New York City - Yojimbot's The Origin of Species. I caught up with Yojimbot this past beautiful Sunday to look for raptors from the roof of his perfectly positioned apartment building. As soon as we stepped out we caught a quick flash of a red tail in a stoop to catch its prey. The bird did not resurface, so it must have made the kill! We spent the next hour watching red tails soar in the distance, but our big break came when we spied a female American kestrel perched on a pipe of the building next door.

Close ups and more after the jump.

I am looking for the bird that was in the tree by Avery during the snow we had on Wednesday, January 28.

You looked so magnificent in the stormy weather, I wanted to take your picture. But I did not have my camera with me.

You had your feathers fluffed and looked cold, but your tail was the prettiest russet I had ever seen, and the elegant hook of your beak let me know that you were an independent bird that could take care of itself.

You may not have even seen me from your lofty perch, but I would spot you anywhere on campus if only you would come back.

I know you are wild and free. You are probably busy hunting elsewhere, and I should not be worried over a few days of your absence, but if I could see you again, my heart would soar as high as you in a spring thermal.

Wherever you are, I hope you are happy and healthy, well fed on all the rats, pigeons, and squirrels your crop can hold.

In other words, we have not seen our darling Hawkmadinejad for about two weeks. If you have seen her, or any time you do, let us know in the comments or send an email or pictures to our Hawkmadinebwog editor at cmd2148@columbia.edu.

"Demon Squirrel Feasts Upon Peanuts" is one of many new campus wildlife photos on the Hawkmadinebwog this month.

In which we check in on the happenings of the Hawkmadinebwog and its editor, Courtney Dowds, as they start up the new semester.

Welcome back to the neighbirdhood, everyone.

Revisting a grade-school favorite in My Side of the Mountain.

A throng of starlings greets the return of their favorite naturalist.

And she's back: Hawkma puts in one of her first appearances of the new year.

I get a little bit of the ants in my pants when I have not seen Hawkma in a few days, especially after I have been away from the city for a long break. I torture myself, wondering, did she decide to migrate after all? Did she succumb to rat poison? Did some feral cat maim her? Where's my Hawkma! So I am always greatly relieved when I see her swoop across campus, landing on one of her favorite trees as I awkwardly run with my backpack on to take her picture before she takes off. Today was very exciting for the wildlife on campus, as Hawkma hung around Low in the early afternoon while other critters got the benefit of a free meal. I was hoping Hawkma might make an easy meal out of the languid, fat squirrels that were being fed peanuts directly within her eyeshot, but she passed them by to fly across Amsterdam, out of sight.

More pictures of Hawkmadinejad and others after the jump.

Although Hawkmadinebwog does not profess to be the highest authority on raptors, we have recently made the informed decision to call Hawkmadinejad by female pronouns. There is no absolute way for us to tell if the campus hawk is male or female other than DNA sex testing or actually watching Hawkma mate or lay an egg. This is because there is no uniform difference in coloration between male and female red-tailed hawks. Most raptors are not differently colored for each sex, though the common, local American Kestrel is one of the exceptions. The male American Kestrel has slate-blue wings, whereas the female does not:

More reasons for the decision and raptor information after the jump.

Exciting news for fans of the Hawkmadinebwog: your winged hero is now on Facebook! United in Fear and Awe of Hawkmadinejad is our official hawk fansite, which you are all invited to join.

We'll keep the group updated with pictures, videos, and lively discussion of all the terrible squirrel violence that's happening right here, at Columbia!

Here are some recent pictures of Hawkmadinejad at one of her favorite perches, the large honeylocust tree on the East side of Butler.

One more shot after the jump.

Hawkmadinebwog rushed to to the quad in front of Kent around lunchtime today, where tipster Sean Zimmermann had told us Our Heroine was eating a squirrel in front of a growing crowd. She boldly stood her ground about only fifteen feet away from the slowly inching forward group of people that watched the carnage unfold. Though one student was lucky enough to get an amazing picture of himself with Hawkma, perhaps we should not be so keen on trying to get that close. It is unusual enough that she is so comfortable living, hunting, and eating in such extraordinary proximity to people on a regular basis. Even though Hawkma has chosen to find her food where there are always going to be students observing her, if you are lucky enough to see her make a kill, give the gal some space. Especially if we are going to crowd around, and we definitely are going to crowd around every time she does something awesome like this, we should form perhaps just a semi-circle around her. Closing off the circle, or walking behind her when she is being observed by many people from the front, can make her feel hunted or cornered. We do not want her to feel that the risk of being observed by a bunch of potential predators is greater than the advantage of the relatively easy meals our campus provides for her! Because we are always going to want to see her do stuff like this:

Oh-so-many more photos and facts after the jump!

Hawkmadinejad hung around the quad in front of Hartley-Wallach in the late afternoon, looking content and as picturesque as always. In the second photo, her full crop testifies to her day of successful hunting.

(Hi Gothamist!)

After spending much of the day on upper campus, Hawkmadinejad finally caught her lunch on the South Lawn. The catch was not quite so dramatic as the last time we saw her dine at Columbia, but the pictures are still pretty excellent. The creature was too small to be a squirrel, and hawkmadinebwog struggled to get a clear picture of her prey. Hawkmadinejad dropped some of the critter's organs into the hedge below her. Help us identify the annihilated critter from its organs, or prophecy for us if you are a haruspex.

Plenty more pictures after the jump, and on Douds' facebook page.

If you recall, a while ago Bwog tried it's hand at Craigslist's Missed Connections for Columbia students. While the primary object of longing was Hawkmadinejad, the rest of the student body was not impressed. However, a tipster showed us that Craigslist had a few Columbia-related connections, just waiting to be brought together. Bwog, in a rare attempt to give back to the community, is spreading these messages in order to unite these fated lovers.

Lost love in butler - m4w

You worked in butler at the RBML, then one day just disappeared. They said you had quit. Definitely took work down more than one notch.
You-Blonde, tall, wears boots, full of smiles.
Me-Darker blonde, not as tall, totally dressed down...always.