Don’t mess with the Fenway Park Hawks
Posted by: Richie Rich in 2008 MLB, Critters, MLB Weirdness, Red Sox
The Anaheim Angels have the Rally Monkey …
The New York Yankees have the Rally Squirrel …
The Boston Red Sox could have had the Rally Hawk …
… until it went and attacked a middle school student on a Fenway Park tour on Thursday.
Here’s a pic right after the attack.
Apparently a Red-Tailed Hawk had taken up residence on an overhang near the press box at Fenway Park. On Thursday, during a middle-school tour of Fenway, a girl got too close to the nest (about 40 feet) and the hawk swooped down and nicked her head with its talons.
Yes, they were sharp. Apparently it brew blood from the girl’s scalp. The girl is all right.
I’m a big fan of raptors - not the Toronto Raptors - but Birds of Prey.
We have Red-Tails and Cooper’s Hawks all over my neighborhood. They’re majestic animals and, well … they’re impressive killing machines.
According to workers at Fenway, there are three hawks that live in the park, often seen eating rats and mice.
Video of the hawk flying around Fenway after the incident can be seen here.
Sometime after the incident, the nest was removed under the direction of Massachusetts Fish and Wildlife. The nest contained a single egg, which explains why the hawk was more than a bit territorial.
It’s not the first time the Red Sox nave had to extricate Red-Tailed hawks from Fenway Park. Apparently they had to remove nests in 2002 and 2005. That article talks about workers having to paint eyes on the back of their helmets to keep the hawks from getting them.
Entries (RSS)
April 5th, 2008 at 4:42 am
The girl’s name was Alexis Rodriguez.
For real.
April 8th, 2008 at 2:24 pm
hi i just want everyone to see this ugly thing as a bird
April 8th, 2008 at 2:28 pm
trust me you’ll neva find me at fenway uh huh id be scared if i were in her position
April 11th, 2008 at 5:31 pm
ALL I HAVE TO SAY IS THAT I WITHOUT A DOUBT, WILL TAKE THE HAWK’S SIDE HERE. WLDLIFE HAS HAD TO ADAPT TO THE EVER-INCREASING IMPINGEMENT OF HUMANS WHO CANNOT SEEM TOS TOP POPULATING AND TEARING DOWN NATURAL RESOURCES TO BUILD HUGE HOUSES THAT THEY HAVE TO SELL THE FOLLOWING YEAR FROM LACK OF MONEY ANYWAY, THEREFORE DESTROYING THE HABITAT FOR BIRDS AND ANIMALS WHO HAVE NO RECOURSE OTHER THAN ATTEMPTING TO COHABITATE WITH THEIR ENEMIES, HOPING THAT HUMAN CRUELTY WILL TAKE A VACATION LONG ENOUGH SO THAT THEY CAN TRY TO HAVE THEIR OWN FAMILIES. FENWAY PARK HAS BECOME, EVEN WITH ALL THEIR COMMUNITY EFFORTS, A GREED-LACED MONEY-GRABBING MONSTER. THE GREED MONSTER! I READ THAT IF THERE WERE EGGS IN THE NEST, THEN THEY, LEGALLY, WOULD HAVE TOW AIT UNTILT HE CHICKS FLEW BEFORE THEY COULD DESTROY THE NEST, AND ANOTHER COLUMN STATED THAT THERE WAS AN AGG THAT FELL OUT OF THE NEST. WELL, WELL,W ELL,, WHO ISD TELLING THE TRUTH HERE? PERHAPS IF THE FENWAY OFFICIALS KNEW THERE WAS A NEST, THEY SHOULDNT HAVE LET SOME GIRL GO NEAR IT. OF OURSE THEY FELT THEY NEEDED TO DESTROY THE NEST,,, THEY AHD TO BLAME SOMEONE! SO, HERE’S FENWAY PARK,DESTROYING SOMEONE ELSES’S LIFE WHO WAS JUST SIMPLY PROTECTING THEIR FAMILY. HMM… NOW IT DOESNT; SOUND SO NICE, DOES IT? HEY, THIS IS JUST MY PUNISHMENT FOR HAVING A HEART, FOR THINKING OF THE UNDERDOG, OF THINKING BEYOND MYSELF AND NOT BEING GREEDY OR SELF-SERVING. ALL FOR A BEAUTIFUL BIRD TRYING TO PROTECT HER FAMILY. BUT, HEY, WITH A ANME LIKE ROBIN, WHAT DO YOU EXPECT?
August 6th, 2008 at 7:03 pm
Robin, do us a favor, and don’t have kids. I can only wish you had said no to drugs…
August 7th, 2008 at 8:36 am
Robin,
Lighten up Francis. You are an idiot.