Celebrity Sanctuary 1

Red tailed hawk in flight

New York’s most famous celebrity couple have apparently broken up, and people are suspecting that one half of that couple may actually be dead.

Lola and Pale Male, the Red-tailed Hawks that captured the imagination of New Yorkers, have broken up with the disappearance of Lola – and Pale Male already moving on with a new mate. Last seen in NYC on December 18th, Lola has not been seen there since, and many experts are declaring her dead.

Others say Lola still lives in Manhattan, others say in Brooklyn, and Shana Gordon of Oakland says Lola has moved out here. She reported to a local media outlet in NYC that she spotted Lola in her neighbor’s tree last week. This would not be the first time that a celebrity figure would find a home in Oakland, and it certainly would be popular choice for a hawk.

Hawk Rock - click to enlarge

Oakland has a fair number of hawks due to our proximity to large tracts of open space, mountainous terrain, and steady food supply for the birds of prey. We even have Hawk Rock which, with it’s panoramic views, may have been an attraction even from NYC…especially if you have eyes like a hawk.

While Franklin Lakes may attract a lot of celebrities from New York sport teams, Oakland was once the spot for city folk who wanted a place outside the city. So, it would not be unreasonable to believe that Lola might look to setup a nest in our neck of the woods. After a certain age, the allure of the city that never sleeps can seem less alluring when you actually want to sleep.

The story of Lola and her mate, Pale Male, have been chronicled in a non-fiction book Red-Tails in Love: A Wildlife Drama in Central Park by Marie Winn; and the couple have been the focus of various news and nature pieces on television.
The video below shows Lola and Pale Male. Please don’t judge their table manners during the eating portions of the video.