Saturday's Sequel: Khaki Campbell Ducks

In yesterday's blog post, I mentioned that in the 1800's, Mrs. Adele Campbell of Gloucestershire, England developed the breed of ducks known as by the name Khaki Campbell. This duck variety can be seen in the images atop this entry, where he/she is spending time in NYC's Hudson River.

According to a web-page for Moose Manor Farms,"In a later attempt to create a duck with buff colored feathers, as buff was a fad at the time, Mrs. Campbell mated her original Campbell’s back to Penciled Runner ducks. The resulting color, not quite buff, reminded her of British army uniforms, so she named these new ducks 'Khaki Campbell.'"

Friday Follow-Up: Mysterious Muscovy has a name! (As well as a number of friends!)

This past Friday, September 22, 2017, I went down by the riverside (Hudson River) to see if the Muscovy duck who I first met on Wednesday, September the 20th, was there. I was so pleased to have a chance to see the lovely creature again, also to find him/her amongst other avian creatures, including house sparrows, pigeons, and molting Mallard ducks; all of whom can be seen in the photographs atop this entry. A woman was on the same pier where I stood. She told me that this Muscovy duck's name is Jewel. Then she informed me that Jewel has been coming here since 2015.

A View From The Hood

The avian creatures featured within all the images included in this blog entry belong to the bird type known as a Khaki Campbell duck.

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.

Monday Musings: ON BEING AN ODD DUCK ETC

Yesterday morning I got the notification via a tweet from from Manhattan Bird Alert  which stated
"The MANDARIN DUCK and his reflection, continuing this Sunday at the Central Park Pond (60th and Fifth)" and upon reading it I made my way over to that area of CP.

However, when I arrived the Mandarin duck was no where to be seen, but The Pond, was being used by a number of other ducks, including male Wood ducks, such as the one seen in my photograph atop this entry.

Nothing Lame about NYC Ducks!

There are a number of warnings signs (such as the one featured in the image directly above) posted near bodies of water in Central Park, including the lake, the Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis Reservoir, as well as Turtle Pond. In spite of these signs, there are those who do not heed the warning and walk on the "thin ice."

Mary Oliver died one month ago today...

MY PHOTOS OF THE MANDARIN ARE AVAILABLE FOR PURCHASE VIA FAA

MY PHOTOS OF THE MANDARIN ARE AVAILABLE FOR PURCHASE VIA FAA

.... and in honor of this extraordinary woman, who reminds us (in her poem "Flare")

"....When loneliness comes stalking, go into the fields, consider

the orderliness of the world. Notice

something you have never noticed before,..."

I'm dedicating this post to her. I will confess that it doesn't take "loneliness stalking" to make me "Notice something (I) have never noticed before;" because it is in my nature to notice so called little things, but sometimes it takes a pair of eyes other than mine due to my challenges (understatement) with eyesight.

For instance this past Friday when I was in Central Park, where many were gathered around The Pond to snap pictures of the now famous Mandarin duck (he can be seen in the pictures atop this entry), I was talking with a woman (who identified herself as Becky) about the Mandarin and how his presence has brought so many people — from all walks of life — together.

Ducks in a row and not in a row...

The "Ducks in a row..." seen in the picture atop this entry, where they are swimming in the pond  in Central Park, include a Wood duck, a Mandarin duck, and a Mallard duck (respectively).

And the set of images directly below feature other duck types, a Khaki Campbell (swimming in the Hudson River), a Bufflehead, (swimming in the Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis Reservoir), and a Muscovy, who is also swimming in the Hudson (respectively).

THIS MUSVOVY DUCK IS FEATURED IN VOL 3

The latter of these, a Muscovy, is featured in volume three of my Words In Our Beak book series...

Saturday's Sequel re The Great Blue Heron

This past Tuesday, here on Blogger, I published a post describing my encounter with a bird type whom I'd never seen before, a Great Blue Heron. I mentioned that I came upon this lovely creature while walking in Central Park. I also stated that I only had a small pocket camera with me at the time, and that I normally use my DSLR to photograph birds. Therefore, I wasn't totally pleased with the images that I had taken of the Great Blue Heron. Because of this, I returned to the park yesterday (taking my DSLR this time) with the hopes of seeing the heron again.

But, alas, I did not see a heron. However, I did see Red-Belllied Woodpecker, who is also a bird type that I'd never seen before (which I discussed  in yesterday's blog post); and this creature is featured in the image directly above, where she is being pestered by house sparrows.

Seeing the Red-Bellied Woodpecker was a wonderful experience, but I still wanted another glimpse of the Great Blue Heron!

Yesterday, I checked the EXIF info re the images that I did manage to get of that awesome bird type the other day —  with the hope that knowing the hour in which they were taken — would give me a clue as to when I might anticipate seeing the Great Blue Heron in the place where I'd seen him/her this past Tuesday.

I'm thankful to say that my "detective" work paid off, for when I returned to the park, near to the time I'd seen the Great Blue Heron before, he/she showed up soon after I was there! The creature seemed in good spirits, nearly jumping for joy; as evidenced in the next picture.

It was very cold outside and my hands were freezing from being exposed as I took photos of this bird, but, as you will see in the next set of photographs (featuring the Great Blue Heron spending time with  Mallard ducks), my efforts were truly rewarded.

May 4th is STILL For The Birds!

VOLUMES ONE AND TWO

Today, May 4th, is Bird Day. It seems more special today in 2018's Year of the Bird, which, as you may know, was designated as such due to this year being the one hundredth anniversary of the passing of The Migratory Bird Act.

In any event, according to Holiday Insights, "Bird Day is the oldest of the days set aside to recognize birds. According to the U.S. Library of Congress, Bird Day was first observed  on May 4, 1894. It was started by Charles Almanzo Babcock, superintendent of schools in Oil City, Pennsylvania. By 1910, Bird Day was widely celebrated, often in conjunction with Arbor Day. Bird Day and Arbor Day events are focused upon conservation training and awareness."

If this breaking news sounds familiar to you dear reader, it may be because I discussed Bird Day in my May 4th posting for the year 2016, which was quite extensive, as it included many bird varieties.

You may reference it by clicking here. Since the publication of my Bird  Day post, I have published two hardcover versions within the Words In Our Beak book series and they can be seen in the image atop this entry.*

Today in honor of Bird Day, I am featuring images of all the bird types whom (in alphabetical order) I have met in Central Park or at the Hudson River, as well as in my courtyard, since that the last year's Bird Day.

A Fear of Ducks Phobia = Anatidaephobia (Tuesday's Truths WK 109)

I recently came across some information re Anatidaephobia that I found interesting so I'm drawing your attention to it in this 109th episode of my Tuesday's Truths series.

Evidently (according to many sources including the web-page quoted here), "a person suffering from this condition feels that somewhere in the world, a duck or a goose is watching him/her (not attacking or touching, simply watching the individual)."

This page explains with apparent empathy that "There are many kinds of seemingly irrational fears and phobias prevalent in the world. What might be laughing matter to people, is not so to a phobic."

As you can see, dear reader, the photograph atop this posting is of a female and male Mallard. I took it when I was in Central Park a few weeks ago. Anyone coming upon this pair of ducks would notice that the male is preening, but if the person who happened to come upon these ducks was suffering from Anatidaephobia, he/she might have cause for alarm; for it does seem as if the male is watching as he preens.

By the way, the aforementioned page explains that the word "Anatidaephobia is derived from a Greek word ‘Anatidae’ which means ducks, geese or other water fowls, and phobos is Greek for dread/fear."

Thursday's Testimony: Confronting Shadows

Maybe because Groundhog Day 2019 has only recently passed, I've been a little obsessed with the topic of seeing/not seeing one's own shadow and am learning to confront mine as Carl Jung suggests everyone should do.

Some Facts Re Male Wood Ducks (ETC) Tuesday's Truths WK 114

Hello and welcome to Segment 114 of my Tuesday's Truths series. In this post I'll be telling you (along with other points of interest) some cool facts re Wood ducks, the bird type featured in the image atop this entry, who seemed to be giving me the stare (or glare) when I saw him in Central Park this past Friday.

"For the beauty of the earth..."

It's now Earth Day 2018 and in last evening's entry here on Blogger, I promised to post photographs of some of the "beauty of the earth" that I came upon when walking (yesterday) along the Greenway that's parallel to the Hudson River, as well as some of the beauty of the earth that I came upon when walking in Central Park.

Salinger Died 9 Years Ago on This Day of 1-27

The author, J.D. Salinger, died nine years ago (2010) on this day of 1-27. He was ninety-one years of age as he had recently celebrated his birthday (he was born on 1-1-1919).

My photos atop this entry are of a male and female Mallard duck (respectively) enjoying either the pond or the lake in Central Park and they are (along with the other Mallard images included within this posting) intended to be a tribute to him.