Fenway hawk update

When a redtailed hawk attacked a 13-year-old at Fenway Park last night, it made a big splash in the local news. (The young woman is ok, the talons scratched her scalp and she was treated but it doesn't sound like there was any serious damage.) Turns out, the hawk was nesting nearby and most stories end with the Department of Fisheries and Wildlife and Boston's Animal Rescue League removing the nest, which contained an egg. This seemed unfair to me - why blame the hawk? Why not just cordon off the area until nesting is over? But Christopher Smalley at ARL has explained. The egg, which was deemed nonviable, was removed from a steel beam near the nest. (It had fallen out; this new story has details.) The nest was not. Smalley writes in an email:

By state law, the ARL of Boston is only able to remove injured or deceased wildlife. The non-viable egg was transported to the DFW. The ARL of Boston did not remove the nest. It's our understanding that the Hawk is still in the vicinity of Fenway Park.

Good to know.

Cats on wheels!

One of our great local shelters here in Boston, Animal Rescue League, has launched a mobile pet adoption van. When I had lunch with two of ARL's guys last week, we talked about this and I asked about screening. After all, for someone to take an animal in while it's still a cute kitten or a puppy only to bring it back a few months later, when it is considered less cute and adoptable, is a crime. But as this article makes clear, the ARL is being pretty good about screening. At any rate, they're trying -- which is why I'm contributing both a set of signed books and the right to name a character to their big October fundraiser "Moonlight Ball", and why we'll be doing a fund-raising event later this year. More details as they come together.


And, yes, this is where we got Musetta. This is what she looked like in those days: