Birds of feather... (Monday's Memo)

THESE BIRD TYPES ARE FEATURED IN MY BOOKS

THESE BIRD TYPES ARE FEATURED IN MY BOOKS

This past Saturday while walking in Central Park, I came upon a fence where a house sparrow, a female Northern cardinal and a white-breasted sparrow were perching.

On a "neighboring" fence a lone tufted titmouse was hanging out with a couple of white-breasted sparrows. This is evidenced in the photos I took which are posted directly above this entry.

Seeing these different bird types spending time in each others company got me thinking about the origin of the idiom: Birds of a feather flock together.

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.

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.

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.

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.

Friday Follow-Up

The three photographs atop this entry feature an encounter between a female Red-Bellied Woodpecker and a house sparrow that I witnessed when I was walking in Central Park yesterday. I had come to the park with my DSLR to try and find the Great Blue Heron bird type that I had stumbled upon yesterday when I was in the park, with only a pocket camera.

But alas, I did not see any Great Blue Herons, but, I did come upon this female Red-Bellied Woodpecker, a bird type that I'd never seen before. I confirmed the bird's ID with Amanda Remsberg, a bird rehabber.