The Hawkshank Redemption
A prison escapee found a home in Central Park, and I paid him a visit. WRITTEN AND ILLUSTRATED BY PETER MOORE
IN EARLY APRIL, THE MANHATTAN BIRD ALERT shared a Tweet about an escaped bird. How appropriate!
New Yorkers are in fact crazy about birds, especially when rare species show up in Central Park. Barred owls. Great snowies. Escapees from the bird gulag at the Central Park Zoo.
Flaco—a Eurasian eagle-owl—is something of a celebrity, earning coverage in the New York Times and on Late Night with Seth Meyers. His story: After a vandal cut a hole in his cage, Flaco flew the coop, taking up in residence in The Loch, in the wild woods of Central Park.
Or so the Tweet said.
My wife, son, his partner, and I, decided to investigate.
First, we bought coffee and doughnuts, at the Dunkin’ on 106th Street and Madison Avenue.
Then we consulted the map.
We walked over hill and dale, then plunged deep into The Loch. Flaco wasn’t hard to find, with fifteen people watching him through high powered lenses.
A helpful birder explained the risks of being a Eurasian eagle-owl in the heart of NYC.
While everyone else was craning their necks at Flaco, I was looking a little lower, and noticed that one of his feathers had become suspended in mid-air, caught on a spider web.
You’re right, Emily. Hope is the thing with feathers!
On a recent flight, I finally watched The Greatest Movie of All Time: The Shawshank Redemption. Andy talked about hope, just like Emily.
Red got off a good one too, near the end of the film: “Sometimes it makes me sad... Andy being gone. I have to remind myself that some birds aren't meant to be caged. Their feathers are just too bright. And when they fly away, the part of you that knows it was a sin to lock them up does rejoice. But still, the place you live in is that much more drab and empty that they're gone. I guess I just miss my friend.”
Anybody know a single female Eurasian eagle-owl, looking for love?
All things NYC. Sweet story and entertaining sketches, as always.
Amazing, Peter! Your bird map of Central Park, in particular is...
...wait for it...
...wait for it...
...wait for it...
A HOOT!!!!!! 🦉