Rocking in the treetops? (I don't think so)

The bird (American robin) featured in the sequnce of photographs atop this entry is not exactly "rocking in the tree tops" nor is he "singing his song," but he seems to enjoy being in an Ailanthus, although not half as much as I enjoyed having him in my midst.

American robins are referenced in volume three of my book series, Words In Our Beak.

MY BOOK SERIES

The goal of these books is to open readers to a simple understanding of the winged world and their environment. Set in a rooftop urban garden (mine) in New York City, my story is told in the voice of Cam, a female cardinal, who visits it. Words In Our Beak is directed to children and adults who are curious about birds, and want to learn about them from a unique perspective. 

These books make a perfect gift any time but especially at Easter, the season began this past Sunday, April 4th and lasts until May 23rd 2021.

Mockingbirds and starlings have common behaviors! Tuesday's Truths WK 208

For this 208th segement of my Tuesday's Truths series, I'd like to tell you a behavior that the bird types (European starlings and Northern mockingbirds) featured in the photos atop this entry have in common.

STOP THE SPREAD (of lovers's quarrels)

HOUSE FINCHES ARE FEATURED IN WIOB

The other day was quite cold and I noticed a male House finch puffing up as he perched on a branch within an Ailanthus tree in my courtyard. Puffing up is something birds do to keep warm as I mentioned in this past Friday's posting. 

Male House finches are red and the females have brownish tones thus they blend in with nature, which is helpful in them being able to protect a nest.

The one seen here (lower left) blends in with the branches so much that I may not have noticed her had I not wondered what the male was looking at. Their distance reminded me of the social distancing, a "task" that folks around the world have been asked to keep to help prevent the spread of the coronavirus.

"...When January brings new faces!"

"THE CHIKADEE" BY RALPH WALDO EMERSON

As promised in my last entry (published on 1-7-2021), I'm back in the blogging saddle for now. My absence wasn't so long when I consider it has been over eight years (November 18th 2012) since I heard the sound which poet, Ralph Waldo Emerson, calls the "gay and polite" "cheerful cry" of a Chickadee occcuring in my rooftop garden but I heard it this morning.

Some of my photo-art is now availabe in jigsaw puzzle format!

One week ago today (11-12-2020), I announced on FB that Fine Art America (FAA) an online, print–on–demand art marketplace and fulfillment service company (who helps artists, like me, sell their images as wall art, home decor, apparel, and other lifestyle products), now have the ability to render artwork in frameable jigsaw puzzle format.

All of their packaging can be seen within my "poster" atop this entry.

Admittedly, the thumbnails may be hard to decipher, so I'm taking the liberty to show you larger images of my jigsaw puzzle's boxes.

Session 58

A #CLAPBECAUSEWECAREPARTICIPANT

A #CLAPBECAUSEWECAREPARTICIPANT

A #CLAPBECAUSEWECAREPARTICIPANT

Session 58 for #ClapBecauseWeCare (nightly tributes to first responders, health care professionals and essential workers who are keeping us safe during the coronavirus pandemic) took place last evening (Wednesday, May 27th). As usual many people took part in the tribute and three of them can be seen in the photos stop this entry.

National Umbrella Day 2020

Today, February 10, is National Umbrella Day and in honor of the occasion, I'm posting a photo of a figurine holding an umbrella atop this entry.

According to a number of holiday themed sites, including National Today, "the origins of the utilitarian holiday remain a mystery, it’s been celebrated since at least 2004."

Not only does the umbrella help keep us dry from the rain, but it also protects us from the heat of the sun as evidenced in my next picture taken at a beach in Ocean Grove New Jersey nearly eight years ago.

National day goes on to proclaim, "Umbrellas can also be used as a fashion accessory. While the umbrella is primarily practical, they also decorate cocktails. These brightly colored paper umbrellas make for fun party favors especially when visiting sunny locations.

N'tl Peanut Day 2019

BLUEJAYS ARE FEATURED IN "WORDS IN OUR BEAK"

BLUEJAYS ARE FEATURED IN "WORDS IN OUR BEAK"

In addition to it being Friday the Thirteenth, its National Peanut Day, a this national holiday that blue jays would probably like to celebrate everyday, as you might surmise from the photos atop this entry.

Friday in the Octave of Easter & Arbor Day

Today is Friday in The Octave of Easter; and because it is the last Friday in April, it is also Arbor Day. I've always appreciated Patrick McDonnell's (creator of the Mutts comic strip) "take" re this event and have posted a copy of it atop this entry. As you can see, McDonnell's characters Earl and Mooch seem to know how much birds appreciate trees as evidenced in their planting one, which is appreciated by an avian creature.

I have also planted trees in containers that are in my rooftop garden and have not only been blessed by the beauty they bring to my place; as well as by their often unspoken help to our environment; many birds have come to visit because of them...

It's March!

Well, here we are already in the third month for the year 2019, proving time does fly rather one is having fun or not! I hope someone remembers to wake Mooch (who can be seen in the Mutts comic strip posted atop this entry). But, maybe Mooch needs to sleep a bit more... after all, his pillow looks pretty comfortable and plus the weather might not be so great just yet.

As you undoubtedly know the beginning of March is associated with an idiom: "If March comes in like a lion, and goes out like a lamb and if it comes in like a lion, it goes out like a lamb."

Evidently this is because "March straddles winter and spring in the northern hemisphere, it tends to have very harsh, unpleasant weather in the beginning but typically has milder, more palatable weather by the end." 

Here in NYC, March is beginning with moderate snowfall as seen in the picture below of my rooftop garden taken in the morning.

THE STORIES IN MY BOOKS TAKE PLACE IN MY GARDEN

In any event, according to a number of sources (including Holiday Insights AKA HI), the month of March in the United States is known as Irish American Month, Music in Our Schools Month, National Celery Month, National Craft Month National Frozen Food Month, National Irish American Heritage Month (designated by Congress in 1995), National Nutrition Month, National Peanut Month, National Women's History Month, Red Cross Month and Social Workers Month.

Some Facts re Male Downy Woodpeckers (Tuesday's Truths WK 112)

DOWNY WOODPECKERS HAVE A STORY IN VOLUME 3

Last Wednesday, I saw (in my garden) my first visiting Downy woodpecker (a male) for the year of 2019. He can be seen in the photo atop this entry as well as in the ones that are directly below.

DOWNY WOODPECKERS HAVE A STORY IN VOLUME 3

DOWNY WOODPECKERS HAVE A STORY IN VOLUME 3

DOWNY WOODPECKERS HAVE A STORY IN VOLUME 3

It was wonderful to hear his sound on that cold winter's day. "You can distinguish males from females because the adult male has a small red patch on its head (juvenile birds exhibit a larger red patch that later disappears). But in spring their presence is usually betrayed by the sound of their drumming. Although many people assume that they’re hearing the sound of a nest being drilled, that may not be the case, at least early in the season. In February, before the onset of the breeding season, the male woodpecker drums to signal for a mate. Selecting a hollow tree or dead branch with promising resonant qualities, he taps rapidly on the bark with his bill, making a rattle-like drum roll that is startlingly loud and carries for a considerable distance through woodland. Males not only drum in order to attract a mate – throughout the year they will continue to drum to proclaim their territory. Each male has his own drumming sequence and stops to listen to the replies of males nearby..." Read more @ https://bit.ly/2R3DLYA

I'm now wondering since the onset of February near (six days) and since that is the time Downy woodpeckers will do their drumming to attract a mate, if my visitor was grabbing nourishment in order to be up to this "task," for he did go from Ailanthus tree to Ailanthus tree within the courtyard and I could hear his drumming.

It's usually not about me (or Earl) .... Wednesday's Wisdom

Earl,* I know the feeling! But it's probably not something you said! I felt the same way when birds stopped coming to my garden for a prolonged time, but then I realized a Red-Tailed hawk was close at hand!

RED-TAILED HAWKS ARE FEATURED IN VOL 3

RED-TAILED HAWKS ARE FEATURED IN VOL 3

RED-TAILED HAWKS ARE FEATURED IN VOL 3

RED-TAILED HAWKS ARE FEATURED IN VOL 3

THAT was most likely reason I hadn't seen birds in my garden OR in the Ailanthus Trees which are in my courtyard. *

As for the reason Earl (the dog featured in the comic strip atop this entry), not seeing birds, you'll have to ask Patrick McDonnell, his creator.

Friday's Facts (Re Common Grackles)

THIS BIRD TYPE HAS A STORY IN VOL 3

The photograph directly above this entry features a Common grackle perching on a branch in the Hallett Nature Sanctuary in Central Park.

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).

Birds Preening

THE STORY OF MOURNING DOVES IS FEATURED IN  VOL 1

This past Saturday after my encounter with a cinnamon-colored squirrel (a variant of the Common Gray variety) in Central Park, I came upon a Mallard duck preening and he can be seen in the first image atop this entry.

I am fascinating with the preening process, which I've witnessed many birds doing, including a mourning dove when he/she alighted upon the branches of an Ailanthus tree in my courtyard (as evidenced in the second photo above). Details re mourning doves and their preening process are included in volume one of my book series, Words In Our Beak. And information about Ailanthus trees is included in volume three.

FALL 2018 ADDENDUM: 

Hardcover versions of Volume One, Two and Three can now be found wherever books are sold.

MY BOOK SERIES

Please click here to go to my blog post that provides details as to where you can get these books. 

Additionally, I have rendered some images from these books into other formats and they are available via Fine Art America (FAA). Some of my other photographs (Black & White Collection, Kaleidoscopic Images and the famous Mandarin duck who visited NYC) can also be found on my FAA pages.

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.

Wildlife and trees provide inspiration for my kaleidoscopic images. Tuesday's Truths WK 89

Welcome to the eighty-ninth segment of my Tuesday's Truths series where I will be reminding you how certain wildlife (such as the turtles featured in the mini video atop this entry and in the photos directly below),

provided the inspiration for my kaleidoscopic image, Turtle Pond.

Friday Follow-Up

A SLIDE FROM MY PRESENTATION

A SLIDE FROM MY PRESENTATION

At the presentation that I made at Iona Prep (Lower) School this past Tuesday, I included a total of two hundred and three slides. These slides featured a number of views of nineteen different bird types who have visited my rooftop garden, as well as a few slides that showed a Red-Tailed Hawk.

She is one who kept her eyes on the comings and goings of creatures visiting my place from either the vantage point of an Ailanthus Tree in a nearby courtyard or from atop an air-conditioner that is in the window of a building which is across that courtyard (as seen in the images of my slides that are posted atop this entry).

As you can see in the first slide above, I included the common and scientific name of the hawk, which is something I did for each bird type (along with giving the students interesting facts re a given bird variety within the featured birds).

There was a student in the audience who was very good at pronouncing the Latin (scientific) names of the birds and there was also a staff member who had an interesting point upon seeing the image (below) on my slide,

A SLIDE FROM MY PRESENTATION

of a lone Northern mockingbird in my garden.

Wednesday's Wisdom: Listen to the Birds!

I live near to Central Park, which can be seen in the photograph (from a web-page) atop this entry. 

During the dozens upon dozens of years in my travels to work places or medical facilities, I have gone to and from my destinations by walking on several different paths within the park. Yet, it is only over the past couple of years, that I’ve heard any of the numerous birds who visit there, in the act of singing.

The 2nd Anniversary of Harper Lee's Passing

BLUE JAYS ARE FEATURED IN "WIOB"

BLUE JAYS ARE FEATURED IN "WIOB"

BLUE JAYS ARE FEATURED IN "WIOB"

Whenever I see blue jays at at the wreath-style bird feeder in my rooftop garden, or alighting on the branches of an Ailanthus Tree in my courtyard, or in the treetops of Central Park; I think of Atticus Finch (a main character in Harper Lee's novel, To Kill A Mockingbird.