RETIRED U.S. Air Force pilot and a former construction contractor, Charles Mascaro, has built a birdhouse near Aquarius Hotel in Chalan Kanoa.
Retired U.S. Air Force pilot Charles Mascaro points to a birdhouse he built for the Eurasian Tree Sparrow locally known as Gaga Pale.
Photo by Bryan Manabat
A birdwatcher from Pennsylvania, Mascaro said the birdhouse is for the Eurasian Tree Sparrow, locally known as Gaga Pale, which he has been watching for some time now.
Mascaro, 80, said he has been an avid birdwatcher all his life, but in the states, he rarely saw a sparrow like the one he now watches on Saipan.
The Eurasian Tree Sparrow
File photo
Mascaro is on island with his wife who is a contractor for the Federal Emergency Management Agency.
He said this is his second time on Saipan and the third for his wife.
“We’ve been here for three months now,” he added.
“I was a pilot for the U.S. Air Force. I flew a C-141 for over four years. Then I worked for my brother in his construction company before retiring permanently. I’ve been all over the world with the Air Force, and I’ve done a lot of travel with my wife, too. I’ve crossed the equator like four times, and I don’t think many people can say that.”
Mascaro said he has three children, three grandchildren, and five great-grandchildren.
