The world is a mask that hides the real world.
Thatâs what everybody suspects, though the world we see wonât let us dwell on it long.
The world has ways - more masks - of getting our attention.
The suspicion sneaks in now and again, between the cracks of everyday existenceâ¦the bird song dips, rises, dips, trails off into blue sky silence before the note that would reveal the shape of a melody that, somehow, would tie everything together, on the verge of unmasking the hidden armature that frames this sky, this tree, this bird, this quivering green leaf, jewels in a crown.â¦
As the song dies, the secret withdraws.
The tree is a mask.
The sky is a mask.
The quivering green leaf is a mask.
The song is a mask.
The singing bird is a mask.
Thursday, May 12, 2005
family tragedies
Falcon fortunes suffer setbacks
by Bill Zajac, 12 May 2005
by Bill Zajac, 12 May 2005
The first pair of peregrine falcons to make Holyoke their home in a half-century have failed to produce eggs this spring.
Meanwhile, in Springfield, the first peregrine falcon chick to hatch this season in the office tower nest died before making it to its third day.
Massachusetts wildlife officials yesterday failed to find any eggs yesterday when they inspected the Holyoke City Hall ledge that has become home to a pair of falcons.
"We'll be back soon to measure the ledge and then place a tray there that should encourage the falcons to nest. Also, the tray will provide a secure place for the eggs to sit," said Ralph E. Taylor, state wildlife officer.
This is the first known pair of peregrine falcons to nest in Holyoke since about 1948, when the state had its largest falcon population with 14 breeding pairs. Currently, there are 12 pairs of nesting peregrine falcons in the state.
In the late 1940s, wildlife enthusiasts discovered the first evidence of pesticide DDT harming the falcon population. By 1966, there were no peregrine falcons breeding east of the Mississippi River.
In Springfield, where falcons have been nesting since 1988, its first hatched chick this spring was found dead early yesterday, according to Andrew House.
House is head of maintenance for the Monarch Place office building, where the nest is on a 21st floor window ledge. The cause of the death is not known.
Three eggs remain in the nest and are expected to hatch in the order in which they were laid.
The Massachusetts Division of Fisheries and Wildlife was contacted about the dead chick, and the bird, which broke out of its shell Monday, was collected from the nest for an autopsy, House said.
There are also nesting falcons at the University of Massachusetts in Amherst and Sugarloaf Mountain in Deerfield.
Staff writer Stan Freeman contributed to this report.
