I just saw a parrot get a Brooklyn Beatdown

when i was maybe 10 feet out of my door, i heard this incredible racket of squawking from the tree across the street. I looked up and in the top of the tree there was this giant beautiful hawk. I watched it for a second before realizing that it wasn't the hawk that was squawking, the green blob struggling in its claws was a parrot!!

i watched this for what seemed like a minute but was probably 10 seconds, as the hawk struggled to keep control of the parrot. all of a sudden, the hawk lost it and the parrot dropped like 30 feet like a rock and landed in the middle of the street.

then, the parrot got up, flew wobbily right over my head, and then crashed into the brick side of the house (not even a window!) and plopped to the stoop like 6 feet from me. i was pretty surprised at how big the parrot was, and it had a big hole in its neck sort of an inch underneath it's eye. by this time, the hawk has flown to the tree directly above me and is eyeing me and the parrot.

i am staring at this parrot and all these things flash through my mind: 'i should take this parrot to the vet up the street', then have a vision of the hawk attacking me if it thinks i am stealing its parrot, then realize i can't just not go into work because i am taking care of somebody's half-dead pet parrot all day.

so, i turn to keep going to the subway, then all of a sudden i hear the parrot squawking like crazy again. but it wasn't the hawk, the feral cat that lives on our block had pounced on the parrot! i felt pretty bad but i wasn't going to try to get the bird away from the cat. the hawk just kind of watched on as the cat continued to tear into the parrot as its squawking died out.

this woman from further up across the street came over to me and we were both kind of like 'uhh....' but i'm glad i talked to someone else and we sort of confirmed to each other that we did actually see what we thought we saw. she said that there are (were) are pair of wild parrots that live on our block! who knew?

ps this is at 6th ave and 11th st, like a few doors up from bar toto

ps this is at 6th ave and 11th st, like a few doors up from bar toto

Yeah. Nothing like watching an animal die and doing nothing to save it. Congrats. I hope you patted each other on the back, too.

Yeah. Nothing like watching an animal die and doing nothing to save it. Congrats. I hope you patted each other on the back, too.

Anastasia Beaverhausen wrote: Yeah. Nothing like watching an animal die and doing nothing to save it. Congrats. I hope you patted each other on the back, too.

a) it would be a genius idea to get between a hawk and its prey
b) these were 3 wild animals and the homeless, feral cat probably has the toughest life of any of them. sorry to break it to you but animals kill each other all day long whether you watch it happen or not
c) get off your high horse.

Anastasia Beaverhausen wrote: Yeah. Nothing like watching an animal die and doing nothing to save it. Congrats. I hope you patted each other on the back, too.

a) it would be a genius idea to get between a hawk and its prey
b) these were 3 wild animals and the homeless, feral cat probably has the toughest life of any of them. sorry to break it to you but animals kill each other all day long whether you watch it happen or not
c) get off your high horse.

It's all part of the food chain.


Those parrots are all over Brooklyn (and the hawks too). Now you know to look for them.

It's all part of the food chain.


Those parrots are all over Brooklyn (and the hawks too). Now you know to look for them.

Sorry, but it had to be done.

Sorry, but it had to be done.

Anastasia Beaverhausen wrote: Yeah. Nothing like watching an animal die and doing nothing to save it. Congrats. I hope you patted each other on the back, too.

Umm, this is what animals do. If I'm supposed to be out there stopping animals from killing each other, I'm going to have a lot of sleepless nights.

Anastasia Beaverhausen wrote: Yeah. Nothing like watching an animal die and doing nothing to save it. Congrats. I hope you patted each other on the back, too.

Umm, this is what animals do. If I'm supposed to be out there stopping animals from killing each other, I'm going to have a lot of sleepless nights.

I don't have a horse. You'd probably want to watch it die if I did. :P

I can't believe you're afraid of birds. I mean, I am, too but so are you!

I don't have a horse. You'd probably want to watch it die if I did. :P

I can't believe you're afraid of birds. I mean, I am, too but so are you!

Anastasia Beaverhausen wrote: Yeah. Nothing like watching an animal die and doing nothing to save it. Congrats. I hope you patted each other on the back, too.

If the parrot is saved, the hawk and/or cat potentially starve. It's not like they'll go get a slice if they can't eat the parrot.

Let "nature" take its course.

Anastasia Beaverhausen wrote: Yeah. Nothing like watching an animal die and doing nothing to save it. Congrats. I hope you patted each other on the back, too.

If the parrot is saved, the hawk and/or cat potentially starve. It's not like they'll go get a slice if they can't eat the parrot.

Let "nature" take its course.

Great Story

I fall into the "wild kingdom" camp. Granted, you could have caught the hawk and lectured him/her on the benefits of a vegan lifestyle.

If it were a pigeon, I would have given the hawk some silverware and a glass of chardonnay

Great Story

I fall into the "wild kingdom" camp. Granted, you could have caught the hawk and lectured him/her on the benefits of a vegan lifestyle.

If it were a pigeon, I would have given the hawk some silverware and a glass of chardonnay

Anastasia Beaverhausen wrote: I don't have a horse. You'd probably want to watch it die if I did.

ah - you want to play the 'who is a more compassionate animal lover' game. so far you've got two points, one for the dog in your profile picture, and another for what you think you would do in a hypothetical (for you) situation that was probably over in a span of 30 seconds. plus you would probably have many claw scratches and scars (from either the cat or the hawk) that you could proudly wear as a badge of honor (and maybe infection) for many years to come, and earn you many opportunities to recount your bravery.

how many years have you been vegetarian? i am going on 13. even spending 3 years as a vegan, i don't think that i have any business interfering with what goes on between animals.

Anastasia Beaverhausen wrote: I don't have a horse. You'd probably want to watch it die if I did.

ah - you want to play the 'who is a more compassionate animal lover' game. so far you've got two points, one for the dog in your profile picture, and another for what you think you would do in a hypothetical (for you) situation that was probably over in a span of 30 seconds. plus you would probably have many claw scratches and scars (from either the cat or the hawk) that you could proudly wear as a badge of honor (and maybe infection) for many years to come, and earn you many opportunities to recount your bravery.

how many years have you been vegetarian? i am going on 13. even spending 3 years as a vegan, i don't think that i have any business interfering with what goes on between animals.

quig wrote: Great Story

I fall into the "wild kingdom" camp. Granted, you could have caught the hawk and lectured him/her on the benefits of a vegan lifestyle.

If it were a pigeon, I would have given the hawk some silverware and a glass of chardonnay

I'm thinking that a Sauvignon blanc would be a better pairing...

quig wrote: Great Story

I fall into the "wild kingdom" camp. Granted, you could have caught the hawk and lectured him/her on the benefits of a vegan lifestyle.

If it were a pigeon, I would have given the hawk some silverware and a glass of chardonnay

I'm thinking that a Sauvignon blanc would be a better pairing...

There are actually a lot of parrots in Brooklyn. There's some story about a crate of parrots going missing from JFK in the 60's or something and they settled in the Greenwood cemetery. I did a quick search and apparently there are sites devoted to Brooklyn parrots... who knew (well, I guess the Brooklyn hawks knew). http://www.brooklynparrots.com/

There are actually a lot of parrots in Brooklyn. There's some story about a crate of parrots going missing from JFK in the 60's or something and they settled in the Greenwood cemetery. I did a quick search and apparently there are sites devoted to Brooklyn parrots... who knew (well, I guess the Brooklyn hawks knew). http://www.brooklynparrots.com/

joehill wrote:
how many years have you been vegetarian? i am going on 13. even spending 3 years as a vegan, i don't think that i have any business interfering with what goes on between animals.

Pull your panties out of your ass (seriously, wear boy-shorts. No panty lines!). All I'm saying is that I can't sit by and watch an animal suffer. Its not in me to do so. Regardless of "nature" and all that other shit. I wouldn't have been able to stand there and watch something being killed.

I still say you're afraid of birds. But I agree because they're creepy.

joehill wrote:
how many years have you been vegetarian? i am going on 13. even spending 3 years as a vegan, i don't think that i have any business interfering with what goes on between animals.

Pull your panties out of your ass (seriously, wear boy-shorts. No panty lines!). All I'm saying is that I can't sit by and watch an animal suffer. Its not in me to do so. Regardless of "nature" and all that other shit. I wouldn't have been able to stand there and watch something being killed.

I still say you're afraid of birds. But I agree because they're creepy.

The parrot was dead as soon as the hawk hit it. Birds are very fragile. It would have bled out or died from shock in minutes. I've seen one of the Green-Wood hawks swoop down on a flock of reeling pigeons more than once. After the mid air collision, there's a cloud of feathers that looks like the bird was hit with a shotgun blast. It's the Brooklyn ecosystem at work. I saw a racoon in my 20th St. backyard a couple of days ago.

The parrot was dead as soon as the hawk hit it. Birds are very fragile. It would have bled out or died from shock in minutes. I've seen one of the Green-Wood hawks swoop down on a flock of reeling pigeons more than once. After the mid air collision, there's a cloud of feathers that looks like the bird was hit with a shotgun blast. It's the Brooklyn ecosystem at work. I saw a racoon in my 20th St. backyard a couple of days ago.

Anastasia Beaverhausen wrote:

All I'm saying is that I can't sit by and watch an animal suffer.

I agree in a situation where a lame animal is just bleeding out after being hit by a car or some other random occurance, but this bird went from life to death in what sounds like a very short time.

And I agree on the boyshorts for women, but only from one man's aesthetic point of view.

Anastasia Beaverhausen wrote:

All I'm saying is that I can't sit by and watch an animal suffer.

I agree in a situation where a lame animal is just bleeding out after being hit by a car or some other random occurance, but this bird went from life to death in what sounds like a very short time.

And I agree on the boyshorts for women, but only from one man's aesthetic point of view.