Friday's Follow-up to my 9-12-2017 Post

Atop this blog entry is an image that I saw on an FB Page of someone that I knew (and haven't  seen since) in high school. The photograph instantly made me think of a recent entry that I made on TLLG's FB Page regarding NYC's Tribute In Light, which pays homage to the victims of the September 11th terrorists attacks on the World Trade  Center.

Last year in an entry here on Blogger, I wrote about the danger this tribute poses to migrating birds.

At this time, I'm so grateful to learn that NYC Audubon has made great progress in their efforts to minimize — if not eliminate — the danger this solemn, well-intended, tribute causes migrating birds.

Thursday's Testimony: Plastics are NOT for the birds (or for any other living creature)...

The comic strip atop this entry was in my inbox today and upon seeing it, I was instantly reminded of a couple of seagulls whom I've seen "collecting plastics" on Long Beach. A couple of my images featuring this disturbing scenario are posted directly below.

It never ceases to amaze me how people litter (for surely no other creature is leaving plastics behind).

Last Minute News re N'tl Library WK 2018

National Library Week is coming to an end. The event began last Sunday (April 8th) with the theme, "Libraries Lead," and in honor of #NationalLibraryWeek, the ALA (American Library Association) let libraries know that this past week was the perfect opportunity for them "to encourage their community to tell their stories." 

Tuesday's Truths WK 73: Possible Book Review!

The NYC Audubon Society, is on my mind today because this past Friday, at their request, I left a copy of the hardcover version of Words In Our Beak Volume One at their office which is located on Twenty-Third Street in Manhatttan.

SEE PRES RELEASE

The person who contacted me from this office said that he would make sure that my book got in the hands of the folks who review books for them, which truly excited me! Hence, I'm featuring an image  (atop this entry) of an open door that leads to their office.

I suppose I shouldn't get my hopes up about this "open door" because a few people have offered to review Words In Our Beak Volume One, and never did anything about it! This includes a wildlife Blogger who requested I send her a complimentary copy (of the softcover version which is not pictured here), and a family member who purchased her own copy.

Be that as it may, hopefully, the person who contacted me from NYC Audubon will follow through, and, as of now re this particular Tuesday's Truths series, I do have the possibility of having my book, Words In Our Beak Volume One, being reviewed by them.

A Red-Tailed Hawk in my Courtyard (Thursday's Testimony)

THIS RED-TAILED HAWK IS FEATURED IN VOL 3

A woman who lives in the building that is adjacent to the one in which I live, has called me on a few occasions to alert me to the fact that a hawk is alighting on the branches of a nearby Ailanthus Tree and is staring at my rooftop garden. Her assumption has always been that the hawk is doing this because he/she "knows I feed the birds who visit my place."

Yesterday was the first time that I happen to notice the awesome creature. He/she is featured in the photograph atop this entry where, indeed, he/she does appear to be staring down at my garden.

Thursday's Tale: Yet another walk in the park. (A View From OAK Bridge)

This past Monday, even though temperatures were only in the twenty-degree range, with "real feel" temperatures much colder, I took a walk in Central Park; to see how our wildlife was faring in the bitter cold.

After all, beyond-frigid temperatures haven't stopped me from going to the park before. As you may recall, from a previous post here on Blogger, I took a walk in Central Park earlier in the month when temperatures were far below what they were this past Monday.

The first photograph atop this entry was featured in the aforementioned blog entry, and I'm including it in this posting as I have a correction to make, for I stated that the view being featured in the image was a view from Bow Bridge, but I had a senior moment in stating this, the view is actually from the Oak Bridge, which I returned to Monday afternoon and took the following picture of the same subject from that vantage point.

The only difference is I zoomed in quite a bit (so a view of one of NYC's sky-lines is not included here as it was in the image I took earlier in January). I zoomed so that I could capture a bird type whom I've never seen in Central Park, or anywhere else for that matter.

I've indicated this bird by affixing an orange square to the second photo below (which is a duplicate of the first one that's there).

A passerby indicated that the bird who was new to me was a type of Egret. However, I did not take her at her word before writing this post, as I don't want to be accused of reporting fake news, which I inadvertently did when I referred to the view from this bridge as being from the Bow Bridge; and not the Oak Bridge, as I've just stated.

Upon my realizing that I'd confused the Bow Bridge with the Oak Bridge, I thought of a passage from Joan Didion's, Goodbye to All That, an essay on Didion's decision to leave NYC (which she ultimately moved back to years later):

".... All I could do during those years was talk long-distance to the boy I already knew I would never marry in the spring. I would stay in New York, I told him, just six months, and I could see the Brooklyn Bridge from my window. As it turned out the bridge was the Triborough, and I stayed eight years.
—-
     In retrospect it seems to me that those days before I knew the names of all the bridges were happier than the ones that came later..."

Meanwhile, in terms of the bird who was new to me, I thought that I was ultimately able to find out his/her correct type from someone in my Twitter feed. Susan M. Thom, Esq solved my mystery, after I tweeted images of this bird and asked for an identification (since I could not find it in my own research).

The Wild Bird Fund's Open House is Today (AND It's also being held tomorrow!)

The photograph which is atop this posting is of The Wild Bird Fund's (WBF) storefront, which is located on the UWS of NYC; specifically at 565 Columbus Ave. This image is featured in an announcement that I received from them re an event that they are holding today as well as tomorrow.

Sunday's Sequel (Re 9/16's Costal Cleanup)

The Canadian geese since in the photographs atop this entry were ones I encountered yesterday, September the sixteenth, when I participated in an event sponsored by Audubon Society NYC, which involved costal clean-up.

In fact, costal clean-up was an event that took place across the entire globe on this day. According to a web-page, "Coastal Cleanup Day was established by the Ocean Conservancy, an organization that work to help protect the ocean from the challenges it faces every year. They serve as a voice for the ocean, speaking of the issues that aren’t often represented through social networking, publicized updates, and challenges like asking your waitress to skip the straw for your drink. Efforts like that work towards a trash free ocean.

Trash in the water impacts the world on many levels, including harming wildlife, humans, and impacting the livelihood of those who work on the ocean. It causes economic damage by affecting tourism and recreation and the money they bring into those communities that are the ocean shore. The Ocean Conservatory knows that solving these issues requires bold initiatives and eliminating the sources of the trash that damages the ocean.

Empowering people to take an active role in the preservation and cleaning up of the ocean are important parts of helping conservation of the ocean. By spreading tips and techniques to help reduce trash they help people everywhere aid the cleanup of our oceans."

My participation led me (via a bus) to The North Channel Bridge area in NYC, where along with a number of other volunteers (some of who can be seen in the image following picture,

which was taken by Danielle Sherman of Audubon Society NYC after we had completed three hours of attempting to clear the beach of items on a form-style check list (as well as items not listed on that form).

They had me at American Oystercatcher!

This past August I received some information from Audubon Society NYC, and it included the image seen atop this blog entry. The correspondence included a narrative stating the following:

Join NYC Audubon, Sadhana: Coalition of Progressive Hindus, Wild Bird Fund and the Linnaean Society of New York at North Channel Bridge to take part in a multi-state effort to improve coastline habitat. The North Channel Bridge area, used by species like the American oystercatcher, is also a stone's throw away from the Harbor Heron Island and the Jamaica Bay Wildlife Refuge. Help us clear the beach and raise awareness of the importance of coastal areas to birdlife. Limited transportation from Manhattan available.

The North Channel Bridge Beach Cleanup is part of an annual international effort coordinated in NYS by the American Littoral Society (http://www.littoralsociety.org). It is a global volunteer effort to cleanup beaches for the marine life, shore birds, wildlife, and you- the beachgoer. Anyone can participate and it is a great way to give back and spend time outdoors. No other program in New York does more to improve the coastal environment than the International Coastal Cleanup.

Wear: comfortable clothes and close-toed shoes.

I was very excited to receive this news and grateful about the prospect of taking part in an activity to help shorebirds, however, the last sentence, Wear: comfortable clothes and close-toed shoes, has me somewhat unnerved. This is because I have been wearing a boot cast for five weeks, and as you may know, those "shoes" are not close-toed, as evidenced below.

The image you see features yours truly wearing a boot cast that had some bling. This bling was given to me as a belated birthday gift by a chaplain who also took the picture. It really made my cast look elegant and it made me feel I was far along in my recovery.

Here's Tuesday's Truths WK 57: The Tribute In Light Endangers Birds Migrating

It's the fifty-fifth week of my Tuesday's Truths series!

Today is also the somber day after the sixteenth anniversary of the September Eleventh Terrorists attacks, which occurred on September 11, 2001. Therefore I am dedicating this entry to a harsh fact regarding The Tribute In Light, which shines all night long on the anniversary of the September Eleventh Terrorists attacks. A photograph of The Tribute In Light (from a web-page associated with NPR), can be seen atop this entry.

This installation is the work of "artists Paul Myoda and Julian LaVerdiere (who on the night of the attacks) watched from Brooklyn as an ashy and gaseous cloud formed over the remnants of the World Trade Center. The lights that illuminated Ground Zero during rescue efforts set this plume of smoke aglow, and through it, both men felt they could still see the buildings. This mirage gave them an idea, which they eventually turned into 'Tribute in Light,' an ephemeral memorial that has served as a vigil for victims on the anniversary of the attacks every year since."

This year, according to an article published by People (where the quotation above is also from), "The installation’s collection of 88 beams will illuminate the night sky above Lower Manhattan on Monday night, creating two pillars of light that will stretch four-miles-high. The display has become one of the most recognized and unique public art installations in the world since its unveiling on March 11, 2002...

... 'When the lights appeared for the first time, it was one of the most peaceful and silent events I had ever witnessed,' Myoda says. 'Until that night, I don’t recall ever being in New York and hearing so little. When the lights were on, everything seemed to stop. It was incredibly quiet.'

As one construction worker told the artists, after six months of looking into a pit, 'people could start looking up again. '

'That night was the first time that it seemed like everybody could gaze into the infinite, and not into an abyss,' LaVerdiere says.

Since then, the installation has been put into operation every evening of September 11, and turned off just before dawn the following morning."

I've seen the Tribute In Light, and it is a sight to behold, but, unfortunately, this installation has been traumatic for migratory birds. In 2015, Quartz reported that "New York’s Tribute in Light to 9/11 is stunning to both people and birds."

The aforementioned article states the "beautiful 9/11 memorial, the Tribute in Light, had to be turned off and on multiple times last night to make sure migratory birds in the area didn’t lose their way, Gothamist reports."

This Particular Friday's "FANTASTICK" Fact: "Deep in December it's nice to remember The fire of September that made you mellow."

Before the official onset of summer 2017, which was Wednesday, June 21, 2017, I told myself that I would make sure that I went to the beach once a week. There are many beaches near Manhattan and all of them are normally accessible by public transportation.

However, this summer getting to any beach via public transportation was impossible due to major construction on all railroad and subway stations. I wrote about the scenario in a previous post here on Blogger which you may refer to by clicking here.

I had also hoped to work around that transportation problem by tandem cycling to The Rockaways (a beach off the Atlantic Ocean) in the borough of Queens, but our plans were cancelled due to heavy rain.

And now September is here and I have not been to the beach. This fact brings the Dr. Seuss quote seen in the image atop this entry to my mind.

I do realize that one can still go to the beach in the fall. In fact, in bygone years, I cycled with my captain to the beach at Coney Island (in Brooklyn) during the month of October.