This morning, as I was blearily walking to work up Fifth Avenue, I looked up. It’s something New Yorkers don’t normally do, I’m told, but I tend to – maybe blame Antony Gormley. In any case, in doing so, I happened to spy four or five large birds of prey, replete with relatively massive wingspans, circling over West 22nd Street. Hawks? Condors? Turkey Vultures? Pterodactyls? Maybe they’re the mysteriously squawky buzzards from Union Square! Regardless, as I continued north into Madison Square, they seemed to follow me overhead, soaring around the stately Flatiron Building, occasionally flapping their huge wings. I was awestruck. I mean, I guess big birds in New York City aren’t that big a deal, but I don’t imagine you see a whole pack of them out at once like this. I stopped in the middle of that traffic island and watched them glide over the rooftops. I looked around to see if anyone else was noticing, but everyone seemed to have their eyes focused downward. In moments, the birds swooped behind the golden spire of the New York Life Insurance Company building and were gone. And suddenly, I was late for work.
I snapped the photo below with my crappy iPhone and it really doesn’t do the sight justice at all (click on it to enlarge, and get out your magnifying glass). I know they just look like tiny specks in the picture, but try to imagine the scale. And don’t forget to look up.
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