Cool Saturday

After having spent a stressful Friday shooting non-nature it was a pleasure to get into the park , especially on a cool day for a change. What better way to start than with worming. The whole process happens so fast, that all you can do is bang off pictures fast and hope to get the worm, because most often it's down-the-hatch in a 1/3 of a second.

There was noise above my head, and no way to get a different angle. The house sparrows were mating. The male "boinged" her nine times. He'd do "it", move aside, return and do it again. And again, and again and again...... I counted. When the work was complete he flew to another tree.

Over at Turtle Pond, a couple of very active palm warblers including one who was shagging bugs off the wall of the castle and then singing in a nearby tree.

The tiny ruby-crowned kinglet was also in this area flitting about near the edge of the pond. My fingers were crossed that it would come closer. It did. Gave me the once-over as if to say, "you'd better get my picture now, because I'm a one-opportunity bird."

One all around beautiful day.

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Little and sweet

The sparrows eat seed bits out of the forsythia then use the blossoms to frame themselves for a portrait.

The winter wren, right out in the open for a photo op. Pure luck. This series is called, "Climb every mountain".

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Friend in the bushes

Riverside pal, the city-noise bird, mocker. We get along fine. I watch. He knows I'm there, grooms a bit and then settles in to give a "concert". It's a total smile observing this mockingbird.

Car honks, doorman whistles, buses in reverse, other bird calls, clicks,- you name it, this bird does it.

It's my wish to also hear a brown thrasher concertizing this spring. They're brilliant vocalizers.

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Spring stroll

Met squirrel at Amsterdam and 69th. Nest material collection time. I watched to see where it was going. Into the Synagogue construction site. Oh joy!! A religious squirrel. Beams and floors are going in, but it's otherwise open. A whole assortment of critters could be moving in. For sure the squirrel has found a cozy spot. I can just picture a service, one section for men, upstairs section for women and separate section for animals. Wherever they choose.

The chickadee came as a surprise. I was watching for warblers. Nice surprise, there and then gone.

I think this redwing blackbird knows me, because he flew over and yelled at me. It was an obvious call for attention, in my face, nothing subtle about it. I delivered a nut bit. Twice.

The palm warbler by Turtle Pond. There were lots of them flitting through the branches.

There were hermit thrushes all over the place. The edit was for the prettiest picture from many.

Pal Bully met on Bow Bridge. A face any photographer would adore.

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By the river

Sometimes I head to the river via the 67th street ramp. There's a wonderful hillside lawn with bushes, but before heading down I look over the wall into the area. Bingo! Mocker in the bush intently looking around. There are bushes there that would be perfect for a nest. This is the mocker that does environmental sounds to perfection..... cars, buses, doormen whistles, etc.

It flew off into the space under the highway. It's like a big empty room, hollow space, great acoustics. It sat in there doing bus-in-reverse, beep beep beep beep beep. Since there was no bus under the highway it was obvious who was "honking".

Meanwhile out in the open the song sparrow decided to concertize, a Bach cantata. The combination,- real music and bus-in-reverse makes for a very funny listening experience.

Further uptown, east of the hawks' nest there's a pair of mockers. They'll probably nest in the tall tree and when the young hawks fledge they'll pester the hawks mercilessly. Territorial and family concerns, but on this day interest was on a huge berry. The stem had to be broken off and the fruit pealed from the pit making it small enough to swallow.

Down the hatch.

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Easter Sunday

It took almost an hour to get to the park, because there were ferocious territorial bird wars going on. Right by the front door seven robins went at it. It isn't that there's a shortage of trees or grass. They're marking out nesting territory so that they have enough worms and berries for a family. There's nothing gentle about the attacks. They are fast and furious with only one winner per turf. At each street corner the same battle was being fought by sparrows. That's a noisy violent face off with males biting males. The battle can draw blood. Again, there's only one victor.



I got to the park at 69th street and watched the same sparrow war, but right above in the fir tree was the answer. Nest-in-progress with other nests in same tree and lots of available nest-building material on hand, or rather on beak. It's the same as the grackle rookery tree by the path in Strawberry Fields, a nursery tree. Often very noisy.

I'm not sure what this pigeon picked up, but it took a few seconds for the wad to go down.

The chipping sparrow at Sparrow Rock....... there were a few.

Back to Turtle Pond. Calmer than on Good Friday. A few pine warblers, kinglets and two phoebes doing their usual bug-snagging ballet.

It got crowded in the park, so I packed it in fairly early.

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