After blogging every day in January about libraries around the country, I was feeling pretty au courant, had my finger right on the pulse of library action. Turns out I was oblivious to one of the biggest stories going, an unfolding drama that had historians, bibliophiles and naturalists on the edge of their seats: there was a hawk circling the reading room dome in the Library of Congress - on the inside. It just doesn’t get more exciting than that (especially at the library). Even though I’m a day late the story is way too good to pass up.
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| Photo by Abby Brack, Library of Congress |
Matt Raymond’s Library of Congress Blog filled me in and made me laugh out loud, click over to it if you need a pick me up. No one is sure how the bird got into the reading room in the first place but once it was noticed employees at the library used an iPhone app to identify it. After trying to lure it down with a hawk call (then what were they going to do?), the library called in the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service for some expertise. The young Cooper’s Hawk actually spent a week swooping around the dome while camera crews rushed in to capture the action and excitement, Brian Todd reported an update of the story, on location, for “The Situation Room” on CNN - isn’t it funny what captures our interest in America? We are so desperate for news stories that are clear and undiluted - and this one even had the potential of a happy ending. The Associated Press reported that a net was pulled across the dome opening to protect the bird and the patrons below (Apparently, the fish and wildlife people have giant nets in their offices and are just waiting for their chance to capture wildlife in D.C.?)
After Mr. Raymond’s first blog entry several hawk names were suggested: Fenimore, Gary Cooper, Anderson Cooper and Shirley (you have to read the blog entry to get this one).
The librarians jumped at their chance to provide the public with a multitude of hawk books and online resources which are listed on Mr. Raymond’s blog. My favorite was The Cornell Lab of Ornithology which provided Cooper’s Hawk sound clips. Snitch, my sluggish golden retriever, just about jumped out of her fur when the call screeched out of my laptop. There is also an exceptionally cool close- up video of a Cooper’s Hawk and great information about what to do if a Cooper’s Hawk moves into your backyard and starts munching on your robins and doves (take down your bird feeders until he gets the hint and moves to another back yard). Apparently Cooper’s Hawks are now quite common in cities and can be found all over North America, they are expert fliers and have the disturbing practice of squeezing their prey to death with their talons (or drowning it), not the kind of behavior that would promote concentration if you were trapped in a room with one flying over your head.
Mark Hartsell reported that the hawk’s library spree finally came to an end when The Raptor Conservancy in Virginia rescued (or captured) her in a baited trap. Frick and Frack were the lucky starlings that were used as bait to attract the hungry hawk and federally licenced raptor banders (I did not make that up!) sprung out from under a nearby tarp to make the grab and save the day. Such excitement! The hawk was a little dehydrated and underweight after a week in the library and will spend a little time in rehab before being release into the wild far far away from the library...a fate worse than death. :)
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