Urban Parks Ranger Rob Mastrianni provided me with an update on the dead juvenile Red-tailed Hawk recently found on 4th Avenue and 9th Street.
The juvenile had died from blunt force trauma, likely from a collision.
There is no doubt in my mind that the juvenile had crashed into the new 13 story glass-covered office tower at 51 Astor Place.
Image of the building, courtesy of the 51 Astor Place website:
The fledgling lay dead in front of Chris French Cleaners, the business on the next block. Rob told me that the fledgling’s crop was split open and bloody, indicating the Hawk flew directly into whatever killed it. Below is a screen shot of a Google Maps view of the cleaners on the left and the 51 Astor Place building on the right:
As you can see, the glass tower reflects the sky perfectly, rendering the windows practically invisible until too late. As I wrote above, I have no doubt in my mind that the fledgling struck the building and then was either killed instantly or tried to fly on but died and dropped to the sidewalk.