Friday Follow Up: My Event at NYSEC

Just a quick follow-up for my well wishers re the speaking engagement (about birds and related issues) that I had this past Monday (11-26) at the New York Society for Ethical  Culture (NYSEC):

JG, the wonderful man who has been rehearsing my presentation with me for several weeks made himself available for a quick run through of my talk with slide show and to help me schlep some volumes of my Words In Our Beak series to the event, which was beyond helpful, since torrents of rain happened to be falling and I already had to carry my computer and other equipment.

Moreover,  he surprised me with a "bouquet" of Paper Whites, which can be seen in the photo atop this entry.

I recently met a new (to me) bird type: Hooded Mergansers! (Tuesday's Truths WK 102)

This past Sunday when I was looking in the waters of Turtle Pond, I observed a never before seen by me bird type, a pair of Hooded Mergansers. This was my sixteenth new encounter (in this Year of the Bird) with avian creatures whom I've never seen before.

According to a number of sources, including Wikipedia, where a page states, "The hooded merganser (Lophodytes cucullatus) is a species of small duck. It is the only extant species in the genus Lophodytes. The genus name derives from the Greek language: lophos meaning 'crest', and dutes meaning diver... both sexes have crests that they can raise or lower, and the breeding plumage of the male is handsomely patterned and colored. The hooded merganser has a sawbill but is not classified as a typical merganser. Hooded mergansers are the second smallest species of merganser, with only the smew of Europe and Asia being smaller, and it also is the only merganser whose native habitat is restricted to North America."

I have a long lens on my camera, but not long enough to get great pictures of the male (black on head) + female (brown on head)! Still I did enjoy seeing them swimming in Turtle Pond and you can see them in the picture atop this post.

EVERYONE is keeping their eye on this birdie!

It's the day before tomorrow's annual New York City Marathon and in all my years of living in NYC, I try to avoid Central Park at this time of year (except I usually attend the Marathon's fireworks annual display which always takes place on the Friday night before the race as I mentioned in yesterday's entry here on Blogger).

I enjoy being in this park at all times of year and in all types of weather, but the  massive crowds who congregate there are hard to navigate. In spite of my aversion to this situation, I went to Central Park late this afternoon in hopes of encountering a Mandarin duck who has been making headlines ever since arriving in NYC a week or so ago.

And it seems there were more than a few people who showed up with the same intent — to keep their  eye on this birdie, as evidenced in the image atop this entry, which shows only a mere fraction of people who were gathered near a pond to catch a glimpse of this creature.

Saturday's Sequel: I've met my 14th bird!

This past Saturday while walking in Central Park and being memorized by the antics of a cinnamon colored squirrel (which I wrote about in Monday's post here in Blogger) I also encountered a bird type unfamiliar to me, making this my fourteenth new acquaintance in this Year of the Bird. I have since learned the creature who I noticed is a Song Sparrow and the little one can be seen in the image atop this entry where he/she is ignoring the fact that a fence had a padlock (although there seemed to be no reason for the lock — it wasn't securing anything).

MEETING Number 13 is a Palm Warbler?

I accidentally deleted all the content from this post when in the midst of adding an addendum to it. As soon as I retrieve the content from an archival file, I will update it.

Some Facts Regarding Laughing Gulls (Wednesday's Wisdom)

In a recent entry here on Blogger, I mentioned that I had been to Long Beach and learned something new about the Ring-billed seagull: "they pant, like dogs which releases heat through evaporation of moisture along the bird's mouth, throat and lungs" and "because birds lack sweat glands, they do not sweat to cool off like we do. A bird will open its mouth and breath faster, which increases the airflow."

On that same day I noticed a Laughing Gull doing the same thing as evidenced in the photo atop this entry. This avian creature is new to me and marks the twelfth new bird whom I've seen in this Year of the Bird.

My last time seeing a bird who was new to me (who happened to be a gray/grey catbird) occurred on 5/29/2018, an encounter which I wrote here on Blogger at that time.

Be that as it may, since today is Wednesday, the day I set aside for my Wednesday's Wisdom series, I'll be using this opportunity to share some information about the Laughing Gull. After all, part of the definition of wisdom, "or sapience is the ability to think and act using knowledge, experience, understanding, common sense and insight."

And the gull seen here is certainly using his/her wisdom to cool down on a hot summer day, however there are a number of other interesting facts re this bird type.

A Gray Catbird is on "the pink carpet!" Tuesday's Truths for Week Eighty-Six

As I stated in this past Sunday's post, I  recently encountered a Great Egret for the first time in my long life. This brought the number of new birds I've seen in this Year of the Bird up to ten. 

The other first time meeting of avian creatures that I've seen during this Year of the Bird, include (in alphabetical order) an American Coot, a Bufflehead Duck, a Great Blue Heron, a Northern Pintail, a Red-Bellied Woodpecker, a Red-Tailed Hawk, a Red-Winged Black Bird, a Ruddy Duck, and a couple of Wooden Ducks. 

And, now I've met my eleventh bird, who happens to be a Gray Catbird. My encounter with this bird type actually occurred shortly after I saw my first Great Egret, a little over three weeks ago, when I was in Central Park, This creature can be seen in the image atop this entry, he/she seems to be watching me as I watch him/her.

Another Sunday in the Park WITHOUT George! (But there was a Great Egret ...)

Last Sunday, which was a gloomy rainy day (just as it is today), I was walking with a friend in Central Park, and we came upon a Great Egret. This creature can be seen in the photographs atop this entry. The first two images feature him/her spending time amongst Mallard ducks.

However, that was not my first time seeing a Great Egret. The first time in my long life for seeing an Egret was a little over three weeks ago (on May 11th) when I was also in the park. That Egret can be seen in the next image, where he/she seems to be watching me as I watch him/her.

In the Words In Our Beak book series (pictured below), Cam the cardinal who narrates the stories has a term for the activity of birds watching people: people-ing.

VOLUMES ONE AND TWO

The birds featured in her published stories are mostly ones whom she has met when spending her time in my rooftop garden, not the ones who frequent Central Park.

However, in Volume Two, she does include a story about Canadian Geese and their goslings who enjoy the bodies of water in the park. Moreover, after she finishes volume three (scheduled to be published this fall), Cam may "spread her wings" and tell stories of the birds who frequent NYC's parks.

Some Reasons Robin's Bathe So Much (Tuesday's Truths Week 81)

ROBINS ARE FEATURED IN VOLUME 3

ROBINS ARE FEATURED IN VOLUME 3

ROBINS ARE FEATURED IN VOLUME 3

ROBINS ARE FEATURED IN VOLUME 3

When I was in Central Park on the day before Earth Day, I saw many wonderful happenings, which I wrote about in a recent entry here on Blogger.

Something I did not include in the aforementioned post is that I witnessed an American Robin bathing in a small body of water in close proximity to a little water fall. He/she can be seen in the act of bathing within the photos directly above.

Earth Day Eve: I met my ninth new bird!

It is now the eve of Earth Day for 2018 and as I write this post, it's at a much later hour than is my standard in terms of entries published here on Blogger. This is because I spent most of the day taking advantage of the one of the first full spring like day that we've had here in NYC.

I started with a walk along the Greenway that runs parallel to the Hudson River where I encountered many beautiful sites related to flora and fauna, which I hope to discuss in tomorrow's post in honor of Earth Day.

As for today and my walk along the greenway, I exited it at 104th street in order to head east so I could also walk in Central Park.

April Showers don't only bring May flowers! (They are an opportunity to stay in and read.)

Today's the sixth day of April for 2018, and so far this month — in NYC — we've had a record number of heavy, steady showers of rain, as well as snow! Channel 7's weather forecast is predicting more of the same in the coming days (as evidenced in the first image atop this entry).

Many New Yorkers are staying dry by staying inside cafés and reading, as seen in the second image atop this entry, where a woman (who identified herself as Shirley) took the opportunity to read portions of Words In Our Beak Volume One.

Other New Yorkers, such as Mark and his colleague, Laura, from Anne et Valentin, took the opportunity to read volume one and volume two of the Words In Our Beak series. They can be seen in the image directly above where Mark is reading volume one and Laura is reading volume two.

Rather you live in an area that's been under wet weather conditions and have needed to stay inside to read; or rather you've been able to enjoy reading in the great outdoors, I highly recommend taking the opportunity to read both volumes of this series. After all, the year of 2018, is The Year of the Bird!

ADDENDUM SEPTEMBER AND OCTOBER 2021:

When the third volume of the hard-cover version of Words In Our Beak was released, I withdrew from promoting my former versions of Words In Our Beak. 

The very first one is an iBook and went into Apple's book store in 2015.

This was followed by an ePub version...

... that is available on Amazon and was also published in 2015.

Subsequently, Words In Our Beak's digital versions were published as a soft-cover book (with slight variations) by MagCloud in 2017.

Its press release can be read by clicking here.  

Now with the release of BIRD TALES....

... I've been advised to make mention of my early versions of volume one of Words In Our Beak, they do vary ever so slightly in content from the hard-cover version of volume one.

As of this addendum, I do not intend to create digital or soft-cover versions of Words In Our Beak Volume Two or Words In Our Beak Volume Three.

A Red-Winged Blackbird is Bird Number Eight! (Monday's Musings)

This past Friday I met my eighth new bird type (who can seen in the photographs posted directly above) in this Year of The Bird! I encountered the little fellow when I was walking in Central Park.

This particular is a member of the Red-Winged Blackbird family and his ID, as well as his gender, was confirmed for me by Robert DeCandido PhD. As you may recall, dear reader, DeCandido is the one who ID-ed a Great Blue Heron whom I came upon in Central Park earlier this year. You might also remember that he a provided bird information (gender) when I met a Bufflehead Duck for the first time. Both bird types can be seen in the photos below (respectively).

In any event, I'm very grateful for DeCandido and I hope I can afford to participate in one of his many bird walks in the near future.

But getting back to my coming upon a Red-Winged Black Bird, my encounter with him was by mere chance, for I had gone to the park and headed to the pond in hopes of seeing an American Coot, a bird type that I initially encountered on March 19th under very bad conditions for taking a photo and I was hoping to get a better picture of this bird.

Saturday's Sequel (WINTER BACK YARD)

The mini essay, WINTER BACK YARD, which is posted atop this entry was evidently published in The New Yorker sixty-seven years ago today.

It's by E.B. White and, as you may recall, I've already featured this particular essay in bygone years here on Blogger. Because today marks the anniversary of its publication, and because I admire the written works of E.B. White; and because I adore the bird type known as dark-eyed juncoes, I'm posting the essay again.

I so agree with White that these birds "are beautifully turned-out little character(s) who look as though (they) are on (their) way to an afternoon wedding" — or any occasion where one usually dresses up.

A few pictures of a lone junco spending time in my rooftop garden can be seen directly below:

DARK-EYED JUNCOES ARE FEATURED IN "WIOB"

DARK-EYED JUNCOES ARE FEATURED IN "WIOB"

DARK-EYED JUNCOES ARE FEATURED IN "WIOB"

I'm not the only one who is impressed when dark-eyed juncoes visit my place.

This Thursday's Testimony is for the Birds! (some of the birds that is)

This particular Thursday (March 22nd) "is the 81st day of the year (82nd in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. There are 284 days remaining until the end of the year. This date is slightly more likely to fall on a Tuesday, Thursday or Sunday (58 in 400 years each) than on Friday or Saturday (57), and slightly less likely to occur on a Monday or Wednesday (56)."

Mooch and Earl are honoring the day by birding, as seen in the Mutts comic strip posted directly above, where Mooch is being "reprimanded" by a ruby-crowned kinglet for only noticing a robin.

Normally by the twenty-second of March, American Robins  have returned to my urban garden (here in NYC), but the spring season has been slow in getting underway in my area (as I mentioned in yesterday's post here on Blogger) and I haven't seen one spending time in my place as of this entry.

However, I saw them in Central Park, on February 8th, as they may have gotten the memo that the city's groundhog had predicted an early spring (which ended up being fake news) this past Groundhog Day (2-2-2018).

Be that as it may, one of the robins I encountered there can be seen in the set of pictures below.

ROBINS ARE FEATURED IN "WIOB" VOL 3

ROBINS ARE FEATURED IN "WIOB" VOL 3

ROBINS ARE FEATURED IN "WIOB" VOL 3

In any event, American Robins were not the first birds I've seen in Central Park in this year of 2018, which as you may know, has been designated as The Year of the Bird, due to this being the one hundredth anniversary of The Migratory Bird Act.

Ever since the onset of 2018, I've seen the usual cast of avian characters who spend some of their time in Central Park. These include blue jays, Canadian geese, cardinals (female and male), common grackles, European starlings, House sparrows (including a very young one), Mallard ducks (female and male) pigeons, as well as white-throated sparrows. They are all represented below respectively:

BLUE JAYS ARE FEATURED IN "WIOB"

CANADIAN GEESE HAVE A STORY IN "WIOB" VOL 2

OTHER CARDINALS ARE FEATURED IN "WIOB" 

OTHER CARDINALS ARE FEATURED IN "WIOB"

OTHER GRACKLES ARE FEATURED IN "WIOB"

OTHER STARLINGS ARE FEATURED IN "WIOB"

OTHER SPARROWS ARE FEATURED IN "WIOB"

OTHER PIGEONS ARE FEATURED IN "WIOB"

For me, this Year of the Bird, has also already provided me with the opportunity to meet a number of bird types whom I've never seen in Central Park.

Bufflehead Duck in Central Park's Reservoir (Tuesday's Truths 74th WK )

Welcome to week seventy-fourth of my Tuesday's Truths series. Let me begin by saying that yesterday I took a walk in Central Park, and when I was walking around the Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis Reservoir, I encountered a bird type whom I've never seen before. He can be seen in the photographs atop this entry.