Thanks to everyone who came to my blog to find updates about Violet and her chick. I’ve been too distraught over her injury to visit Washington Square Park, watch the web cam, or even say much about the situation. You can find the latest news about her rescue plan here: https://cityroom.blogs.nytimes.com/2011/05/11/hawk-cam-rescue-of-violet-planned-for-thursday/
This comment I left on the page linked to above (comment #3) sums up my current feelings about the situation. I could be ignorant or misguided about the whole deal but I still feel the same way as when I wrote:
I don’t understand the statement that if they have to remove Violet, there would be no point in trying to save the eyas. There have been multiple successful cases where captured chicks were released back in the wild and learned to fledge and hunt normally. For example, California Condor chicks were partially raised by humans for brief periods of captivity and reintroduced into the wild. In order to maintain the phenomenon of imprinting, the biologists used adult condor ‘puppets’ to feed the chicks by hand. The chicks were fooled into thinking the puppet was an adult condor. In our case, we have the luck of having the chick already imprinting with Violet. Why can’t Violet continue to feed the chick while on the mend (albeit in captivity)? I feel bad for Bobby though. He’ll be extremely distressed to find his mate, chick, and nest GONE after months of preparation and bonding. I pray for all three of these birds (Violet, the chick, and Bobby). I’ve found myself quite involved in this whole issue and have even blogged about the nest and have visited Washington Square Park to see the nest in person. I’ve taken many photos of the nest and met and spoke with fellow hawk watchers there for the same reasons as I.