Chaos In the Skies Over Boston —14th Floor Views

Quiet Morning Turns Loud Quickly: Investigating with My Camera

The skies erupted in chaos as gulls circled wildly over Boston’s Seaport rooftops. I’d never seen this level of disarray before — it felt like nature’s version of an air raid. Seaport, Boston, MA – May 2025

Just a Normal Day in Boston’s Seaport

It started as a quiet morning in my office. Even though the Southern view out my window and door is spectacular, I do, even with my ADHD, mainly focus on work and my desk. This morning in May was different.

The Noise Outside Was Incredibly Loud 📢

Through the great soundproofing of the glass and doors, I started hearing a growing buzz of seagull cries. And what I saw was amazing. As I peered out, I saw the feature image above, after grabbing my camera of course. As I looked out and stepped, (well, hobbled), onto the balcony, it appeared to be a natural air raid.

Across the whole horizon, birds were screaming and flying in circles erratically. What was happening, I thought to myself?

QUESTION: Which do you prefer? Color or Black & White, or Both?

Color returns, and with it, a sense of scale. The sky’s choreography continues over Boston’s dense Seaport blocks. Seaport, Boston, MA – May 2025.

I then looked up and saw even more birds in the sky above me. This picture below captures the edge of the balcony of the floor above.

As I watched the Chaos, I started thinking back. I grew up in the 60’s and 70’s and remember Alfred Hitchkock’s frightful movie, THE BIRDS. I saw it as a young kid and it always made an impression on me. It was filmed in a seaside town… Boston is a seaside town… uh-oh. And I am a graphic thinker, meaning that when I remember things, I review them in my mind in pictures… in addition to other senses.

Looking straight up, I spotted another group swirling overhead — it wasn’t just the horizon in panic, it was the sky above me too. Boston Seaport, May 2025.

I swung around to get a better understanding of what was happening, and there it was. On the lower part of the image below, I saw and realized what may have stirred up all this cacophony of anxiety by the birds in the hood. There were two people on the rooftop of the Yotel, near their rooftop bar and restaurant. If you looks closely, do you see them?

More movement everywhere — the entire skyline came alive in motion, soundless from inside, but bursting with tension. Seaport, Boston, MA – May 2025.

Urban Falconry In Action 🦅

On the roof was some sort of hawk, falcon or predator under the guidance of its Falconer. At least this is the assumption or story I am telling here, without actually researching the details. I jumped to this conclusion. What do you think? Apparently, pigeons, seagulls, crows, and other nuisance birds recognize birds of prey as natural threats. This had to explain the crazy bird chaos all around.

So, I wanted to see more, so I switched to my 24mm-240mm lens to get a better, “Bird’s-Eye-View,” no pun intended. And, there it was. According to my assistant Athena, (my Name for ChatGPT), its a Harris’s Hawk. They are considered very successful in urban bird abatement.

And there it was: the source of the frenzy. A Falconer calmly standing with his hawk, disrupting the entire aerial order with silent authority. Seaport, Boston, MA – May 2025.

The hawk didn’t attack. It didn’t need to. Its mere presence, gliding with calm purpose over the rooflines, was enough to send the gulls into a tailspin. I had never seen such a raw, instinctual reaction—part chaos, part choreography. And all of it driven by fear.

I zoomed all the way in to 240MM to get the closest view of the Falconer, their assistant, and their Hawk. (Is it a Hawker with a Hawk or still a Falconer)?

This isn’t fiction. This is modern urban falconry, where raptors patrol restaurant rooftops, hotel balconies, and office towers—not to hunt, but to restore balance. Gulls, crows, and pigeons learn quickly: if the hawk is here, it’s time to go.

This was the moment I understood: there’s no siren louder than a hawk in the sky.

Another angle of the Falconer with his Harris’s Hawk, both calm and composed as if orchestrating the sky with invisible strings. Seaport, Boston, MA – May 2025.

Management Shows Up

Again, I am not sure, but it looked like someone from the hotel was checking in to see how it was going on their rooftop. I think we were all amazed at the skies filled with negative energy and alarm, but I guess the Falconer and trusty Hawk, were doing their job.

With rooftop management joining the scene, the Falconer explains the hawk’s presence and purpose, turning a moment of chaos into curiosity and conversation. Seaport, Boston, MA – May 2025.

The Reason for Avian (Bird) Abatement

So, after this chaos abated, thanks to the Hawk, I later went out to capture the late afternoon 14th Floor Views of Boston shots. I changed lenses. This time I brought out my Canon RF100-400mm lens for some closer shots.

And to further solidify my assumptions about the bird chaos, Its clear that the most likely reason for event is to keep the pigeons, seagulls, and other birds away from the rooftop restaurant at the YOTEL. I hope I don’t offend anyone, but to me, Seagulls and Pidgeon’s are cute, but their behavior is no better than a water rat.

And speaking of Birds of Prey, have you seen my friend who visited me on my balcony? See my other Substack Post - Bird of Prey on My Balcony

Other 14th Floor Pictures 🏢

Later that day, the rooftop restaurant buzzed with conversation and cocktails—completely unaware of the aerial drama just hours earlier. Seaport, Boston, MA – May 2025.

And for fun, with my longer lens, I caught some neighbors out on their balcony, chilling, chatting, and having a cocktail, or two…

Just across the street, neighbors enjoyed balcony time and cold drinks, unaware that a hawk had turned the Seaport skies into a scene out of Hitchcock. Seaport, Boston, MA – May 2025.

And surprisingly, I captured this three-shot Panorama of my South and Southwest horizon nearing the end of Golden Hour. This was shot with my 24-70mm and merged with Lightroom Classic on my desktop.

o end the day, a panoramic sweep of the city under dramatic post-storm skies reminded me why I always keep a camera nearby. Seaport, Boston, MA – May 2025

And on July 4th, I caught the crowds enjoying the YOTEL’s rooftop restaurant, just after sunset, hoping to see some fireworks. I think we understand how and why the Hawk does its job in keeping the nuisance birds away from Rooftops in the city.

The rooftop buzzes—with lights, drinks, and music—chaos replaced by celebration. Seaport, Boston, MA – July 2025

And, If rooftop photography is your thing, check out 14th Floor Views – Boston

Lessons learned 🧠

Not a lot to unpack here, but there are some learnings as I shot and wrote this:

1. Be Ready. Have I beaten this one up? Especially as I am in the Boot and its difficult to get around, but my camera was out and ready. My 24-70MM on and available. And then switching to the zoom lens really helped get closer.

2. Perseverate, but Radiate. Don’t just focus on the commotion. Capture what else is going on around you or the focal point. By looking up, down, sideways, even with limited walkway (balcony), you get more context into the situation.

3. Same Scene ≠ Same Shot. I have my goto shots from the 14th floor in my horizon. But things change. The clouds of the morning were completely different than the clouds in the Pano above. Look for those subtle differences. there is always something different in the frame and its subjects, and what you put into it.

4. Good Glass is Better than Cropping. To me, being a lens based photographer, Its great to try different focal lengths. In my street work, the majority of photographers focus on the 28MM to 50MM range, almost religiously. (There are some 85MM street shooters, but they are considered Voyeurs, not “in the frame” like the short MM shooters). With extreme quality sensors, with high pixel counts, its still better to get the frame best in-camera, with great glass as opposed to narrowing the pixels in post cropping.

Your Turn 🤔

So, if you have made it this far, what do you think?

• Was this too newsy? Journalistic?

• Should I do more research when telling stories like this?

• What serendipitous events have you seen and captured? Tell me more and share with others in my magazine…

Closing Thought This Week

I cannot wait to get this freakin’ boot off my leg and get back out there. Your’re probably tired of hearing that already, right? But, my thirst for capturing images, and the desire to grow my body of work, has me shooting anytime I can.

I deeply appreciate all the people in my life including you, my subscribers and readers, family, friends, business colleagues, neighbors, and fellow board members and investors. Your support means the world to me.

And special thanks to my wife Lynn, my Bashert (soulmate), for being my supportive Partner of more than 30+ years and the proud co-parent to our two amazing kids (and Stan Lee).

I’ll be jumping back into my photowalks, traveling more often, boating regularly and more, but not likely to be playing pickleball anytime soon. 😄

So tell me—WHAT’S UP? 👀 What are you shooting, seeing, exploring, or just thinking about this summer?

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Copyright Stuff

All photographs and images were taken and produced by me, David Rosen. Feel free to share this post by linking to it, re-stacking, or creating notes to spread the word! The images may not be reproduced or distributed without my explicit permission. If you would like to use the photos, I'd be glad to accommodate you — so please contact me at Click@davidrosenphoto.com. Thank you for supporting my work—subscribe or share to stay connected with my photography journey.