NEW KENNEDYWORKS WEBSITE

Well finally, I've begun to set up a new website. I'm not the blogger I thought I'd be, but still want to preserve the legacy of Uncle Charles and connect friends old and new to his life's work. So.... I'll continue to blog right here AND connect this blog to the new kennedyworks website wherein lots of good info will be housed. kennedyworks.com is the place. It's under construction, but out on the web. Come and check it out, leave a message, help out with your ideas for making it the best place possible. Thanks!

COLORADO PREMIERE SCREENING OF LEGEND: APRIL 27TH!!

BUY TICKETS ONLINE FOR THIS GREAT EVENT HERE: bloomsburyreview.com

TO RESERVE TICKETS OR FOR MORE INFORMATION:

 303-455-3123 OR 800-783-3338 marilyn@bloomsburyreview.com

   

                                                         Click above to view the film trailer

                 

I am sooo pleased that this great film will have it's Colorado premiere screening for the benefit of the legendary literary review magazine, The Bloomsbury Review. "Blooms" is taking an exciting new direction so this will be a rare opportunity to support a Denver institution and see a fabulous nature documentary––all in Montview Presbyterian's beautiful Miller Center.

Montview Boulevard Presbyterian Church 1980 Dahlia Street

Reception @ 6:30 p.m.

Screening @ 7:15 p.m.

Chat with filmmaker post-screening

“The Bloomsbury Review is cause for celebration by anyone who cares about books and literature. At a time when newspapers and magazines across the country are cutting back on their book review pages, The Bloomsbury Review has become a national treasure.”

—Pat Schroeder, former President and CEO,Association of American Publishers

Pale Male Soars in Houston!!

Deb and I just had a fantastic experience with the great people of the Houston Audubon Society. Wow! What gracious folks––staff and members alike. After spending the month of October enjoying a variety of interactions with the Houston group as part of their annual gala, we flew down to Houston for a screening of “The Legend of Pale Male”, which took place on Thursday evening. It was a moving experience to accept an award from Houston Audubon honoring Charles’s dedication to nature conservation, birds, and Pale Male….. and honoring his body of work as a photographer and writer.

I look forward to future work with the Houston folks as we develop new materials for educators based on the film and Charles’s books. Charles loved serendipity and synchronicity. I think we’ve found both here in Houston!

Thanks again, Houston friends!

FINAL ONLINE CHAT WITH HOUSTON AUDUBON

Hi Folks, 

Tomorrow (Thursday) night!!!! 2ND AND FINAL ONLINE CHAT!   hometweet.org

The Houston Audubon Society is offering one more chance to meet the amazing filmmaker Frederic Lilien and learn more about the powerful documentary "The Legend of Pale Male" featuring the famous nesting Red-tailed Hawks of NYC. 

The Houston Audubon group has been soooo gracious in honoring the film, the filmmakers, and my late uncle's work all month long that I hope we can return the love by having a bunch of you all joining in with us!

Thursday, October 18

7:00-8:30 p.m. CENTRAL.  6:00-7:30 p.m. MOUNTAIN. etc.......

The last chat was a kick, and the Houston group has cleaned up some technical glitches so this event should be smooth and a lot of fun. 

Please join us for any or all of that 90 minute window---- you can chime in, ask questions or just lurk at the site. :-)   We're hoping to pack the (virtual) house tomorrow night.

USE THIS LINK TO JOIN THE CHAT ROOM:      hometweet.org

My video thanks to Houston Audubon: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dgue-v-Vdf4

HUGE HONOR FROM HOUSTON AUDUBON SOCIETY

WELCOME, HOUSTON AUDUBON FANS! I invite you to peruse this site honoring my late uncle, Charles Kennedy. Make sure you check out the resources down the right side of this site.

And to all visitors:

CHECK OUT HOUSTON AUDUBON's GALA site!! http://www.hometweet.org/heroes/

They are honoring the Legend of Pale Male, filmmaker Frederic Lilien, screenwriter Janet Hess, and my sweet, late Uncle Charles!!!!!

They have a great online auction going on from Oct 1-18. Get in there and bid it up. A great cause!

There will be online chats with Frederic, Janet, and yours truly on October 13 and 18. JOIN US!

Thanks so much, HOUSTON AUDUBON!!  
(video thanks! http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dgue-v-Vdf4 )

Leadership in Conservation Advocacy

Please join Houston Audubon in honoring these amazing people behind the film Pale Male and The Legend of Pale Male. Their involvement in the creation of these beautiful works of art and the years of dedication toward subsequent advocacy efforts for birds and wildlife are appreciated and acknowledged here. We are humbled to know them by their leadership, generosity, and grace. Their lists of achievements are long and noble, and may their positive impact on society be everlasting.

Frederic Lilien

At the age of 23, Frederic Lilien left his native country of Belgium for NYC. His first film, Pale Male garnered 15 international awards and has aired in more than 75 countries. His work has been featured in documentaries for HBO, Canal Plus, Turner Broadcasting, and PBS. The Legend of Pale Male is his first feature film and the culmination of 16 years of following New York’s love affair with one remarkable hawk. Today, Frederic dedicates the film to helping nonprofits raise awareness for their missions for the benefit of birds and wildlife everywhere.

Janet Hess

Janet Hess is the Series Editor of NATURE, the premier natural history series from Thirteen/WNET for PBS. She has written and produced some 20 documentary programs. She collaborated with Frederic Lilien on his first film, the original “Pale Male,” for which she was awarded the 2004 Emmy Award for writing.

Steven Kennedy and the late Charles Francis Kennedy

Writer and retired educator Steven Kennedy received a rare inheritance: the unpublished photographs, essays, haiku poems, and papers of his late uncle Charles F. Kennedy, the beloved New York City naturalist and photographer well-known for his passion for birds and especially Pale Male. Steven’s charge from his uncle is to “make my life’s work available to anyone who might enjoy them when I’m gone.” Steven has aptly done so, and is Adjunct Professor of Special Education at the University of Northern Colorado. He and wife Deb, reside in Aurora, Colorado and are avid birders.

On the Anniversary of Charles's Death

On October 20, 2004 Charles died, one day after his 67th birthday. A couple of weeks later NPR's Margot Adler offered a heart-felt tribute piece in remembrance of Charles. Here's a link to that piece: http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=4159505

Some years the October 20th date has sneaked right by before I could capture it, but not this year. Charles and I shared a love of this season and autumn has been breathtaking here this year. There have been many times during this month that I have thought about phone chats with Charles about rare migrating birds in chill air surrounded by flaming colors. I went across the big road today to ogle a rare Red-throated Loon on the state park lake. The bird was a fine specimen, but it was upstaged by the scene around it––large flotillas of migrating ducks and grebes; golden sunlight igniting all the raging yellow cottonwood trees; cool, sweet late morning air; a backdrop of  lightly-powdered mountains nestling up into a cerulean sky.  So, I came home and listened to the NPR story just to hear Charles's voice waxing ecstatic about nature. Bittersweet.

An Owling Family and Central Park in the Dark

Charles Kennedy in action!

One of the loveliest parts of bringing Charles's collections to publication is that it keeps me close to members of his New York City 'birding family'. So, in order to shine a light on the owling portion of that family, I'm posting a piece of my introduction to the Owls of Central Park.   
     While I am at it, I will urge you to find and read Marie Winn's book, Central Park in the Dark, which features all of these same characters and many more in masterfully told tales of nighttime naturalist excursions in the greatest urban park in America.  Marie has graciously allowed me to use material from her fine books in the Charles collections for which I am eternally grateful. 
From my introduction to Owls of Central Park:
     The last time I was with Charles was two weeks before he lost his battle with cancer. During that last quiet time together, what he most wanted to do was read to me from his newest compilation, his “owl book.” He had engaged his friends in producing, by hand, large copies of the book--in part to keep them from focusing on his deteriorating health, and in part to make sure it was finished and available to his close network of friends and family. As Charles read his book about Central Park owls he charged me with tending to his large body of written and photographic work. So this book has a special place in my heart. It also is a favorite among Charles’s friends and acquaintances. 
     As I prepare these comments, I am paging through an original, hand-bound copy of the owl book. I strain to hear Charles’s warm, vibrant voice, adding pithy, parenthetical notes about the photos and the stories. The main bookbinders at Charles’s bedside were his closest birding buddies: Marie Winn, Noreen O’Rourke, Lee Stinchcomb, and Jim Lewis. They were original hawk-watching stalwarts, and they appear in Charles’s hawk tribute, Pale Male and Family (Cerberus Press). They all became Central Park owling buddies, so they are main actors in this book as well.
     You will also meet up with Central Park über-birders Tom Fiore and Sharon Freedman as well as Central Park Conservancy woodlands boss, Regina Alvarez.  And look for cameo appearances by Big Apple luminaries such as Joe DiMaggio and Edward Kennedy “Duke” Ellington. It’s true! Charles always brought his love of art, music, literature, and sports to his encounters with nature.
     In this book, Charles indulges other passions as well. He takes us deep into owl science, at one point providing evidence that refutes a belief that owls’ eyes are fixed in their sockets. And, as always, he illuminates his feathered subjects in masterful haiku poems. The haiku Charles chose for his owl-tribute book are perched throughout.*At Charles’s urging, Ms. Winn wrote her lovely book, Central Park in the Dark: More Mysteries of Urban Wildlife (Farrar, Straus and Giroux).  Her book paints, on a larger canvas, the fascinating nighttime, nature adventures of Charles and his friends. 
     This collection contains the original owl book (as Charles created it) with special excerpts from Ms. Winn’s book––offerings of call-and-response and contextual harmony. Charles also kept an audiotape journal of well-developed ideas for magazine articles. His journal is excerpted throughout this volume as well.

Owl Eyes: An Amazing Tale

     In the newly-published Owls of Central Park, Charles tells an entrancing tale of a saw-whet owl in desperate straits. Charles found the tiny owl struggling mightily to expel a pellet from its gullet. In the midst of the struggle the bird crosses its eyes, something many experts believe is not possible for an owl, or at least not at all common.

                                                      Photo by Charles F. Kennedy

 From Owls of Central Park

     I claim the third photo to be the first picture ever taken of a Saw-whet with its eyes crossed.  Is that true?   I have no idea, but I did show it to my optometrist.  She said she’d never seen a bird with this problem before.  “It crossed its eyes for close focus.  No correction is needed.”           

     So why the big deal about an owl with his eyes crossed?  Because the literature consistently says that owl eyes are immobile.  In fact, that’s Roger Tory Peterson’s word for them: “immobile.”

     Lewis Walker in “The Book of Owls” says “their eyeballs are fixed—like headlights on a car.” 

     Paul Johnsgard in “North American Owls”: “The eyes of owls are so large that they are immobile in their sockets.”

     Joel Welty in “The Life of Birds”: “Owls, unable to focus their eyes on close objects, must back away.”

     In this case, our Saw-whet could not back away, as the owl was quite attached to its pellet.  What’s an owl to do but defy the literature and cross its eyes.


The entire story and photo sequence are truly amazing and entertaining.

OWLS OF CENTRAL PARK is now available!!!

I’m back and with a new book and a new publisher—Cerberus Press!!! I am so very pleased to announce the publication and availability of Owls of Central Park: Essays and Photographs by Charles F. Kennedy.

The publisher, Mark Perna, and designer, David Mittelman, have done a beautiful job with this book and we have it available at a very nice price! It is available at amazon.com and barnesandnoble.com.  Just in time for holiday giving! Click on book images in right column to purchase.

Book summary:

Charles Kennedy loved the natural world of Central Park with a singular passion and Owls of Central Park provides the evidence. When he died in 2004 he left behind this remarkable collection of unique photographs, rich essays, field notes, and masterful haiku poems. Owls of Central Park captures the nighttime adventures of Kennedy and his intrepid New York City friends as they explore the habits and intrigues of several owl species in Central Park. The reader will find plenty of hard owl science and history, e.g., visiting a clinic where an owl's cataracts are investigated or in a series of photos that refute the long-standing belief that owls eyes are fixed in their sockets. There is also plenty of high adventure, great photographs, and fine writing. If you are a fan of owls, or of New York City and Central Park, or if you simply love gorgeous nature photos and stories, this is a book you will love.

AND more great news from my little corner: Cerberus Press has now published the other two Charles Kennedy books, too, in absolutely stunning renditions---- and at the nice price.

More to come… Thanks so much for continuing to follow this blog, even as I have been away from it for a long while. There is new energy for the blog. I’m glad to have you along!  Much love, Steve.

Solstice Lunar Eclipse Becomes a Charles Moment

Since Charles’s death in 2004, Deb and I have had many experiences with what we have come to call “Charles moments.” Last night offered yet another.

photo by s kennedy

December 21, 2010: Winter solstice, lunar eclipse, standing outside in the chill of night, looking up anticipating something special, something beautiful and transporting. It was a very Charles thing to do and this morning I couldn’t wait to gather some of his body of work in praise of heavenly bodies. Photos, essays, haiku: the Charles trifecta.  Enjoy!

First, here is an essay that appears in both Charles collections published to date. It recalls an adventure with his dear filmmaker friend, Frederic Lilien. It features a gorgeous photo that is also found in “The Legend of Pale Male”, now showing in theaters around the country.

Hawk In The Moon

photo by C.F. Kennedy

 the moon

paints so beautifully

tonight

     The Belgian and I had been scouting this shot for several days, Frederic with his video camera and I with a still camera. Pale Male, the boss Red-tail in the park, had been bringing his just fledged kids to Turtle Pond for hunting lessons and we wanted photographs, especially since a full moon was on its way.

     This pond had just been drained and for profound ecological reasons: it was nearly dead. A few years before there had been nine species of fish in the pond—now a struggling two. The pH values were all off, as was the oxygen level. The pond was strangling primarily because of bad drainage and silt overload. 

     A drained pond bottom was Christmas for the rats. Food galore. But as the food chain goes, it was also early Christmas for the hawk family. The wily father brought his eager but inexperienced juveniles to learn to hunt at the rat deli. To aid in the elaborate renovation of the pond, several thick 25-foot creosoted poles were sunk into the ground and used for stringing temporary electrical wires. Hunting from perches is a principal technique for Red-tails, so when they were not strafing the pond bottom for Rattus norwegicus, they were sitting on a pole planning their next attack.

     The crepuscular time was best for everyone. The rats are primarily nocturnal, but dusk is just fine with them. Dusk is a bit late for the diurnal Red-tail, but when training the children, one works late. For Mr. Lilien and Mr. Kennedy the time of day was spectacular. The sky was becoming a richer and deeper blue and, of course, the point of it all— the full moon found the hawk.

From the photo-essay collection Pale Male and Family and the haiku collection The Fish Jumps Out of the Moon.

And now a sample of the haiku to be found in The Fish Jumps Out of the Moon: Haiku of Charles F. Kennedy, beginning with a lovely scene turned exciting in this pair of poems.

haiku game

keeping the moon

on the water

the fish

jumps out

of the moon

In the next three Charles looks skyward and plays with the heavenly bodies.

the moon

is a precise half tonight

thin autumn air

Mars in the water

the moon

sidles over

new crescent

flat on her back

Venus lurking

Now a triptych wherein sharp observation meets humor, geometry, and whimsy.

tough question

moon

in water or sky

good shot

splashing the moon

with a rock

chubby kids

throwing round stones

the full moon

I am swept into the following scenes each time I read them––so evocative and romantic in a way.

soft wind

scatters the moon

on the lake

after the rain

thousands of summer moons

on leaf tips

The Secret Pleasure In Reporting My Bird Lists

I continue to peck away at a modest biography of Uncle Charles. The main work to date has been reading through his papers and interviewing people close to him. But the only way I can genuinely (credibly?) render a telling of his story is to make it the story of what Charles meant to me and how our journeys intersected. Consequently, along the way I have stored up odd bits of my own written work that in any way relate to Charles's impact on my life. 

Tonight, I came a across a document containing what is, on the surface, a not-so-modest rumple of posts I've made over the years to our fine Cobirds birding listserv. I have kept them (and other pieces) because as I write anything about birds or nature or jazz or books or politics or beauty, I hear Charles––or perhaps I just feel close to him. And then I look at the page and I see his influence: the joy, the whimsy, the anticipation, the child-like awe. It's all genuinely mine now, but mostly gratefully borrowed. I don't write as well or think as well as Charles did. I most certainly don't appreciate as avidly and thoroughly as he did. But here I offer some snips of my stuff as homage––a way of moving his story forward. Thanks, Charles.

A few examples:

From the yard.

Every day, all week long I would turn off KUVO jazz and open the window to hear Billie Holiday.  10 White-crowned Sparrows singing "God Bless the Child."  I want them to stay.

***

It's day three of Barnum and Bailey's Bushtits.  Five strong on suet feeders they fend off Flickers and Downys.  Under the seed feeders they shoulder up with burly Juncos.  They've temporarily taken the tiny place of a quintet of Mountain Chickadees, which had ruled the small spaces of the yard for nearly a month.  I feel a bit guilty about getting into this show for free!

***

A burst of brash Bushtits just peppered my feeders-- four-at-a-time on the suet feeders and more-at-a-time on other feeders.  A perfect flying circus! And then they were off, a gray parade of  cartwheels and summersaults.  A fine addition to the yard list here at Parker and Belleview in Aurora.
***

On my morning walk at Cherry Creek State Park I sneaked into a fine fall concert at the Beaver Pond, a venue with great lighting and spot-on acoustics.

A Western Meadowlark diva opened with an aria about her meadow and its bright golden haze. ("The mullein's as high as a birdwatcher's eye!")

A spurt of comic opera was chortled by Virginia Rails in a baritone duet.

Three tenors dressed as Marsh Wrens rattled out an extended tribute to pugnacity; an old drinking song, I think.

A giddy soprano choir of Gold and House Finches tinkled from the risers through the entire show.

With me in the willow seats were a dozen well-behaved Lincoln's Sparrows and also a Gray Catbird, who, sensing this was not a jazz concert, opted to simply mew along to himself.

Nothing rare, sorry.  But mighty rarified!

***

Highlights and delights:

In the early morning mist a pearly string of 30 Snowy Egrets was strung along the dam and swim beach.  On the southern sandspit runway one good tern (species) deserved another; four Commons and Two Blacks looking like ultra-lights among the pelican jumbo jets.  And just west of the swim beach I wandered into recess time for a whole school of wired Wilson's Warblers who didn't even notice their shy, stylish classmate, MacGillivray's.

Always a treat.

***

I post today in praise of understatement at Barr Lake.  It's not that Debbie and I minded the impromptu avant garde concert presented by a Warbling Vireo, a Black-headed Grosbeak, and a House Wren, all blowing madly from the same tree.  And we enjoyed the gaudy kingbird and oriole air show.

But this morning's best show was the Subtlety Pageant.

A raft of Gadwall won for Best Use of Available Light--- brief, but stunning.

Several Swainson's Thrushes quietly triumphed for Best Use of Available Shadows--- putting good optics to the test!

Four nicely distributed Lincoln's Sparrows won in the Most Elegant Skulker category--- handsome little surprisers.

And one special Orange-crowned Warbler grabbed the award for Best Discreet Flash of Crown Patch--- a modest, but memorable performance.

It was a good morning at a great place.

Pale Male Soars in the Bay Area!!

From this tiny, remote corner of the big cyber room, let me begin with this: Thank you, thank you, people of the Bay Area! The press and the filmgoers were delighted with “The Legend of Pale Male” and they let us know it. “Us’ in this case is Frederic Lilien, the filmmaker, Deb and me. From San Francisco to Berkeley to San Rafael the first West Coast weekend of “The Legend” was uplifting. The old red-tailed master of the New York skyline, Pale Male, found a new bunch of fans out on the western edge. 

The film-related duties were lighter in CA than in NYC so Deb and I––and Frederic––had opportunities to be tourists in and around San Francisco, and we met up with friends and family who live in the area.  So packed was the itinerary that I didn’t have a minute to blog even a morsel while in San Francisco. Deb’s pedometer let us know that between little jaunts on cable cars, trains, busses, and trolleys, we walked 9-10 miles per day for four days.

Wandered the de Young Museum in Golden Gate Park. Got to City Lights Books along the way and picked up some Beat poetry books. Jack Kerouac was a fine haiku writer. He and Charles could have a had a mad, wild haiku time of it. From Kerouac's Book of Haiku:

Deb near City Lights Bookstore

Arms folded

to the moon,

Among the cows

Missing a kick

At the icebox door

It closed anyway

This July evening

A large frog

On my door sill

And the quiet cat

Sitting by the post

Perceives the moon

In his haiku book, Kerouac, like Charles, pays homage to haiku masters Buson, Basho, Issa. I love these circles, these touchstones. 


We spent Sunday with Frederic exploring the Muir Beach, Point Reyes area––walking the trails from the beach to the tops of the cliffs. Magical. Red-shouldered and Red-tailed Hawks were kiting in the thermals. Turkey Vultures plied their macabre opportunism, ignored by the wading birds and scrub birds busy with their own rounds.

Deb and Frederic in Sausalito

With Frederic at Muir Beach   

Charles didn’t need a formal invitation to accompany us on this trip, he is always along, whatever the adventure. On Sunday he seemed to be very present––Deb, Frederic, me, and the ghost of Charles. When it came time to settle up for lunch at a fun little café in Stinson Beach, Frederic and I began a stubbornness game that Charles loved (and most often won), the “I’m paying and you have nothing to say about it but ‘thank you’” game.  On the plane home that evening the seed of a poem came down the aisle and I caught a little draft of it.

In Which My Late Uncle Buys Us Lunch

The ghost of Charles bought our lunch

on a beach he never saw–

until today.

Because he wants us to be strong

to keep the pale bird aloft,

to shine the warm light into more corners:

The hawk on the screen

Charles in my dreams

projected in a million pixels

through a box of ashes.

The ghost of Charles bought our lunch

where the vultures float the cliffs

in vain.

Because there’s nothing for them here

we have nothing for them here

nothing.

A Good Season To Stop and Admire the Beauty

Getting ready to zip off to San Francisco, but thought I'd add one more gift received from a good New York friend, Regina Alvarez, who works for the Central Park Conservancy. Charles was on the Woodlands Advisory Board for the Conservancy (the umbrella group that manages all of Central Park), and Regina staffed the Board. I was delighted to have the chance to see Regina and her cousin, Fred, in NYC over Thanksgiving. Regina is a gifted and passionate horticulturist and manager, and she was part of some of the best adventures Charles and his friends had in the park, in daytime and at night. 

I asked Regina if she would provide a quote for the cover of the upcoming book about owls in Central Park. She graciously provided the following––

“I often think of Charles and talk about him at work. One of my favorite things about Charles was how he got me to slow down and look at the park.  As Woodland Manager, I am often very busy and I run around the park getting things done.  With Charles I would stop and admire the beauty of the park where I work everyday.”

Regina Alvarez

Director of Horticulture and Woodland Management, Central Park Conservancy

The deep chill and the short, dark days of December provide a dramatic backdrop against which we may experience the subtle beauties of the natural world in stark relief. Charles was nearly always in a state of rapt anticipation of the next bit of beauty, the next unexpected source of joy, the next dose of perfect photographic light––in all four seasons. But he and I agreed that late autumn and early winter were particularly sublime. So, stop, admire, and enjoy!

ON TO SAN FRANCISCO! See this film!

The multiple award-winning documentary film, "The Legend of Pale Male", soars into San Francisco for its big opening Friday, December 10. 

Deb and I will arrive there on Thursday, December 9  to help filmmaker, Frederic Lilien, with opening weekend logistics. This inspired film centers around the remarkably intertwined lives of a famous clan of Red-tailed Hawks and a large community of hawk-loving New Yorkers. The cinematography, editing, and writing are superb.  Throughout the film, tribute is paid to Uncle Charles-- for his role in mentoring Frederic through many years of filming and hawk stalking, and for his devotion to the hawks and hawk watchers.

Here’s a link to the film trailer: http://www.thelegendofpalemale.com/TRAILER.html

The film has been very well received by audiences in New York, where is has earned an additional week of screenings. This is a film for everyone, from nature lovers, to documentary film fans, to young and old alike.

 If you are in the Bay Area or know people who are, please pass on a link to this site and get out and see the film! It makes a great holiday treat. Encourage your favorite groups to attend. We have had a good number of school classes attend the film in NYC and the kids flip for the film. Many of the 'star humans' in the film are children. Too sweet!!

      The film opens next Friday at the following Bay Area Cinemas: in San Francisco at the Opera Plaza Cinema-- http://www.landmarktheatres.com/Market/SanFrancisco/OperaPlazaCinema.htm;

in Berkeley at the Shattuck Cinemas-- http://www.landmarktheatres.com/Market/SanFranciscoEastbay/SanFranciscoEastbay_Frameset.htm;

in San Rafael at the Christopher B. Smith Film Center--  http://www.cafilm.org/rfc/.

Later December openings include: San Diego on the 17th; Boston on the 22nd; Nevada City, CA on the 26th. The Chicago opening will be on January 9th.

Use this link for information: http://www.thelegendofpalemale.com/Now_Playing.html

And, keep your eyes to the skies.... "The Legend" may well be coming to a city near you!

  A couple of weeks ago, the fine NPR program, Living on Earth, featured an interview with filmmaker, Frederic Lilien. In the interview Frederic spends a significant amount of time focusing on the contributions Charles made to the filming. http://www.loe.org/shows/segments.htm?programID=10-P13-00047&segmentID=6

    

     

    

In Which We Hail Hawks and Conjure Owls

The great Red-tailed Hawk, Pale Male, is having his day in the celluloid sun, as well he should. The first weekend of showings in NYC went very well. Hurray for Pale Male, Frederic Lilien, and all the ‘hawkoholics’!! “The Legend of Pale Male” will have another week in The Big Apple and then on to San Francisco, Boston, San Diego and beyond!

And… for many of us, cold weather is owl weather.  Deb and I took a late afternoon walk today, across the main road and into Cherry Creek State Park, ‘our park’. As we approached the woodland trail we voiced our ramped-up anticipation, “Good time to see owls…”

We strode into the spinney as the sun painted the leafless trees with a sepia cast before it fell behind the Front Range. It was easy to fall into an altered state of consciousness.  Memories. Connections. Magic?

***

When my brothers and I were small, Uncle Charles bought us all of the A.A. Milne books. I have two next to me now. Some of my fondest early memories are of curling up in Charles’s lap to hear him read The House at Pooh Corner and When Were Very Young in his most expressive thespian voice. It was easy to picture Pooh and Piglet, Eeyore and Owl (or “WOL” as he spelled it) frolicking in the Hundred Acre Wood. Later, Charles would come back to Iowa from New York when I was 10ish to lead the neighborhood kids on naturalist expeditions through the Bever Park Woods and waist-deep into Indian Creek.

And many times, just like today, being in our local Hundred Acre Wood, we feel certain that Charles must be present, just behind the next tree, picking up ‘haycorns’ for Piglet or pausing to listen for an owl’s call...

***

In Charles’s photo-essay book about owls (soon to be published!) he has a poetic photo-essay about Long-Eared Owls, a species in search of which he and his friends spent many cold Central Park nights. Along the way, they developed a micro-cosmology of owling, containing such important elements as belief and serendipity. From Charles’s book:

Lee and Noreen and I developed a rule. It allowed us to believe in ourselves and believe in owls. 

         Rule: If you think you saw it, you did.

 And from Central Park In The Dark, by Marie Winn:

 If you can’t beat ‘em, join ‘em. Our little band of night explorers––Charles, Lee, Noreen, Jimmy, and I––adopted this unprincipled philosophy as soon as the screech owls arrived in the park…We wandered the park at random, looking for owls.

…One warm, clear February day Charles struck pay dirt. As he was trying to locate a noisy woodpecker drumming somewhere near Warbler Rock, his binoculars lighted on a little screech owl sunning itself at the entrance of a cavity about fifteen feet up in a black locust. The bird was perfectly camouflaged, detectable only by sheer serendipity––Charles’s specialty.

***

 Deb was the owl whisperer today. Well back in the woods, in muted light, she stopped abruptly, beckoning me with swift hand action. We were sure she had spotted a Long-eared in a tree not far from the trail. We had no binocs, so we needed a closer look to make sure. So we did what Charles would do: We bushwhacked stealthily through low bushes and thistle patches toward the tree. And… we found a perfectly owl-shaped jumble of sticks, perhaps remnants of an old nest. 

Not a setback––a good omen. So I hooted the “Who are you?! You too?!” of the Great Horned Owl a few times for good measure and we walked on down the path––for about twenty paces. Deb stopped again, this time crouching and pointing back into the woods and up…to an actual Great Horned Owl. The sun was gone, but it had set ablaze all the trees to our west in its screaming orange-and-magenta wake.

In that scene I flashed on the plaque that adorns Charles’s memorial bench in his Hundred Acre Wood—the Ramble in Central Park. The plaque features one of his haiku:

empy milkweed pods

weeks since a butterfly

maybe there’ll be owls

Past the Great Horned and nearing the edge of the woods, Deb and I took stock of our walk: Gulls, geese, chickadees, pheasants, magpies, flickers, two kinds of sparrows, juncos, a close encounter with a large white-tail buck at dusk, and a brace of coyote sopranos singing a forlorn duet up the far draw.  

On the home stretch I remembered a poem, which was the genesis of this post.  I wrote the piece ten days after Charles's death––right after an early-morning birding jaunt to Cherry Creek, when I had burst into the house, on auto-pilot, and had gone straight to the phone to dial Charles's number. 

Last Rite of Autumn 
October 30, 2004

on mornings like this

I would phone Charles…

describe my park’s sunrise

made of October grasses

crows and sparrows and pink clouds

on freshly powdered mountains…

and hear an echo

about a hawk family pulling pigeons

from an oak and maple blaze,

about the dusky gift of owls

on diminished days in his park…

we’d then declare our shared love

of autumn

as it cast its soft spotlight

on our fortunate lives

Film Fun and Gratitude

I am sooooo grateful to my niece, Jill, for her surpassing hospitality for the past week. She has taken good care of her old uncle and she has lent a valuable hand with the film opening. As we enjoyed the Thanksgiving dinner she prepared yesterday I couldn't help but think about how Charles's legacy is being picked up and carried by this special young woman. So good. So good.


We are about to dash to the train and rumble into Manhattan to do one more round of 'film hawking' at the Angelika Film Center. Wednesday's opening was delightful––so many old friends and some great new ones met. So, now you get the synopsis of why of all of this is so important to me, but even more so, why all it was so important to Charles, who after all, is the star of this website. I humbly offer you my introduction to Charles's book, Pale Male and Family:

INTRODUCTION

     It was a fine and defining obsession. The story of Charles Kennedy’s relationship with Pale Male is one of devotion, wonder, and joy—along with a helping of “flying envy.” It also is the story of a unique extended family.

     When he died in October 2004, Charles left a substantial body of unpublished photo-essay books and haiku poetry focused on the natural world of Central Park in New York City. Charles took thousands of pictures of Pale Male and his hawk family. Charles personally crafted the core of Pale Male and Family as a photo-essay homage to the nesting Red-tailed Hawk Charles variously referred to as “Central Park’s CEO,” “The Boss Hawk,” and “His Guyness: Pale Male.” Had Charles published this collection himself, he would have provided introductory notes and perhaps even some of his illuminating field notes. My job here is to offer at least some of what Charles would have wanted you to know, all of which comes unabashedly through the filter of my immense admiration.

Fortune Smiles 

     Charles reveled in serendipity, so three bits of “coincidence beyond mere chance” must be shared.   

     One: After his arrival in New York City in 1960, Charles spent as much time as possible in Central Park, watching birds and studying nature. But in early 1994 he received an inheritance that enabled him to buy the camera equipment of his dreams and spend as much time as he wished in the Park.

     Two: Around that time, the New York City birding community was abuzz about a rare find—a Red-tailed Hawk hanging around Manhattan’s Upper East Side.

   Three: A small group of hawk devotees was being magnetically drawn to the new bird, and Charles found himself in their midst. As years progressed, they would ogle, study, fret over, and champion the new hawk, his mates, and his broods at the nest site on Fifth Avenue at 74th Street. This group of “hawk-o-holics” evolved into a kind of family, a tight band of comrades who invited themselves into
membership with a family of hawks. 

Family  

     Charles was a charismatic, welcoming presence in Central Park. Most who made his acquaintance felt they were part of his circle, and he accepted them as such. However, a small group of “hawk buddies” developed an extraordinary bond—a bond that remains to this day. They are noted here because all are primary characters in Charles’s written collections as well as his life. 

     The “family” includes author Marie Winn. Ms. Winn’s marvelous book, Redtails in Love: A Wildlife Drama in Central Park  (1998), chronicles the full adventures of Pale Male and his many admirers. Filmmaker Frederic Lilien is part of the clan. His award-winning PBS Nature documentary “Pale Male” (2002) has been expanded into a feature-length film, The Legend of Pale Male, which will premiere in fall 2010. The late Dr. Alexander Fisher was the gracious, renowned dermatologist who welcomed hawk photographers and others to his Fifth Avenue apartment terrace. That balcony became “Hawk Headquarters,” the platform from which most of the photographs in this book were taken. Rounding out the crew is a trio of “hawk bench docents”: Lee Stinchcomb, Noreen O’Rourke, and Jim Lewis.  Jim’s “History of the Fifth Avenue Red-tailed Hawks” appears in this book as Appendix 3.

Obsession and Devotion  

     In the first several years of the Pale Male phenomenon, Charles and company committed to daily, 14-hour vigils. Every detail was monitored—from relations between Pale Male and his mate of that year to the date and time of the last juvenile to fledge.  Some years a betting pool was kept as to when the young would leave the nest.

     Charles’s entire schedule, for weeks at a time, would be centered on the rhythms of the hawk nest. He engaged in endless study of any and all scientific information related to hawk behavior, hawk biology, and hawk nesting. I fondly remember urgent phone calls that would begin something like: “Did you know that a Red-tailed Hawk’s eye is nearly the same size and weight as the human eye? Whoa! Just think about it!” In essays, Charles balanced tantalizing scientific facts with romantic, anthropomorphic musings.
     To this day, Pale Male’s nest is easily and best observed from the Model Boat Pond in Central Park. In spring and early summer Charles was a mainstay at the “hawk benches” on the west side of the pond. He led an ever-widening ad hoc (ad hawk?) circle of hawk-nest docents: volunteers who shared their enthusiasm and knowledge with all passersby. The docents’ devotion to Pale Male’s offspring was such that they came to the benches each day with special equipment (gloves, extra shirts) that prepared them to rescue fledging (or falling!) babies from the street-level dangers of the great Manhattan urban wilderness. And for several years running, Charles helped organize a birthday party for Pale Male, complete with custom-decorated birthday cakes.

Wonder and Joy  

     Readers of this book will hear, in Charles’s “voice,” the wonder with which he beheld the behavior of red-tails.  He marveled at the hawks’ loyalty, power, resilience, and parenting instincts. He employed beatific images and metaphors, describing nearly fledged hawks as: “Soon to declare an opinion to the sky,” anticipating their “grand jete into the park.” And, of holding a rescued hawk, he said: “It was air. This fluid, elegant, wind machine had only the assumption of weight. Like lifting wind, only with talons.” To Charles, hawk chicks might be a “cloud of baby fluff.”  Charles was also a master haiku poet, and each of this book’s haiku is an elegant expression of focused wonder.

     Joy? Charles’s ebullience permeates this collection. Here is a taste of Appendix 1, Charles’s field notes transcribed from on-the-scene tape recordings. Sign-offs from postings:

The joy was in just simply being there. I was very excited about being back up there and shooting again.

I am still quite breathless about this whole thing. Whew!

Oh! I’m so excited up here today!

And it is exciting, folks!

It was an extremely exhilarating day today, by the way!

Envy and Kinship

     In 1998, National Public Radio broadcast a feature on Red-tails in Love. When interviewed, Charles revealed the enormity of his infatuation with the hawks:

We have an immense envy of how it moves, how it looks. We dream of flying. We watch flying. We try and broad jump like we are flying. And he has that power––the power of death, I guess. The power of having a fistful of knives.

    

     Even more compelling was Charles’s longing to be kin with wild creatures. From the same radio interview:

I have a very real sense that he knows who I am, not because I do anything remarkable. It’s because I’m here all the time. And he has astounding visual skills that allow him to live. And if he has such skills, then why wouldn’t he recognize me in his background, too? 

     In the documentary “Pale Male,” Charles rescues a newly fledged hawk from Fifth Avenue traffic. When he releases the hawk on Dr. Fisher’s terrace, a talon pierces Charles’s hand. The response is ecstatic. “We are blood brothers, that beast and I. He flew away with a bit of Iowa blood on him. Yeah, that was a kick!”  Here, Charles also shows pride in being an Iowa native. His small-town, midwestern roots produced an affinity with nature and enabled him to appreciate how remarkable it was for a Red-tailed Hawk to thrive in a major city.

Chronology and Photos 

     This collection roughly follows the life cycle of young hawks—from small chicks peering over the nest’s edge to fledging from the nest to independent hunting in Central Park. The scenes themselves come from a variety of broods from 1996 to 2000. While many of the photos stand out in professional quality, every photo plays a role in illustrating the stories Charles wanted to tell, the lessons he wished to share.

Our Good Fortune

Charles often spoke of his fortunate life. It is our good fortune that he made such good use of his. He put himself in nature at every opportunity, soaked up information, and made fascinating sense of it all. Everywhere he went, Charles delighted in sharing what he knew, inviting others to enjoy the wonders of nature in the city. We are fortunate that he also took photos, wrote essays and haiku, and kept field notes.

     Now you are ready to lift off into Charles’s tribute to the Red-tailed Toast of Manhattan.

Steve Kennedy

Aurora, Colorado 

July 2010