What we do see depends mainly on what we look for....
In the same field
the farmer will notice the crop,
the geologists the fossils,
botanists
the flowers,
artists the colouring,
sportmen the cover for the game.
Though we may all look at the same things,
it does not all follow that
we should see them.
~
 |
| I'm often awed by some of the city scenes. This was exiting the subway at Columbus Circle on our way to Central Park. I'm not going to say who stole the Unisphere design from the 1964-65 Worlds Fair. [The original lives in Flushing Meadow.] |
 |
| Pigeons perched all over the USS Maine Monument at the corner of the park. Were they welcoming us? Was it a hint of what we would find inside? |
One of the issues with birding in Central Park is the number of people who use it every day - hey, it's a park! And birding on a weekend, when there are weddings (3 that we saw) and a "walk" (Making Strides Against Breast Cancer) and a major parade (Hispanic Day Parade 2018 ~ Desfile de la Hispanidad) is probably ill-advised (although we were not the only birders out on this day). But if you find the right spot and are patient you might get lucky and spy a few feathered creatures. We did.
Our first day took us from the southwest corner of the park to The Ramble. Like so many secluded parts of the park, The Ramble has a reputation. Still, we found a couple of spots where birds new to us found us!
Here are the best of the bad photographs:
 |
| There he is - all by himself - the Hermit Thrush. |
 |
| And another Hermit Thrush (we would see 3 by the end of our second day) |
 |
| Ruby-crowned Kinglet. I saw one of these around the block from my home. Its fluttery behavior and bright red feathers (they often do not show their "crown" as here) shocked me. Of course I didn't get a photo then. So I am excited to have captured this one. |
 |
| Another Hermit Thrush. |
 |
| White-throated Sparrow |
 |
| Magnolia Warbler |
 |
| White-throated Sparrow |
 |
| This is another photo of the kinglet - and an indication of the difficulty I had in getting photographs in the thick foliage that surrounded us in The Ramble. |
 |
| Tufted Titmouse |
 |
| American Robin |
 |
| American Redstart |
 |
| This little bird flew all around flashing its yellow feathers until I finally got these two shots. |
More bad bird photos:
 |
| House Sparrow |
 |
| American Robin |
 |
| Mourning Dove |
 |
| This Red-bellied Woodpecker looks like he is playing hide-n-seek. We heard him call and then he flew to this limb - staying behind it most of the time. It reminds me of my brothers sneaking into and out of photos. |
 |
| Black and White Warbler |
 |
| Black-capped Chickadee |
 |
| The best of 22 photos taken to capture this bird. Kinglets constantly move, making photos tough. |
 |
| Okay, maybe this is a better photo (I'm still sorting photos). |
Somehow I think birding will be planned more seriously (this was a last minute thing - hence no binoculars) should we come back to the city for a visit. That said, the places we hung out were beautiful as were the walks to them. We have mapped our spots for future use, but will just share the photos here.
 |
| Somewhere in The Ramble on DAY I. There is a pair of cardinals in that foliage. A pair of "birders" came just after this photo was taken and aggressively interfered in our enjoyment of the birds - as in scared them away. These two could see us sitting above them with camera in-hand. Perhaps this is the way they do birding in the north. A southerner would at least offer you a beer as they chased the birds away. |
 |
| This was the perfect spot with clear views to most of the trees and places the birds perched. |
 |
| A couple of young women climbed up to where we were (off of the trail) and walked beyond this rock. I suspect they could see my lack of amusement as they did not come back in our direction. As we left the area we checked to see if there was a trail down in that direction. There was not. They had a "serious climb" down. |
 |
| We were pleased to find this spot and know now that we have to start much earlier (and probably on a week day). |
 |
| Our walk out of the park. |
DAY 2 took us to the North Woods. This was not an area DH knew at all. When he lived in the city this area was not safe to visit. It is today. I can see heading back to these woods to explore a great deal more.
 |
| As we walked into the park we were greeted by at lest 4 different species of birds, one squirrel and a chipmunk at the foot of these steps. We thought it was a sign. |
 |
| We found a small cave off to the left. |
 |
| I must have turned around to get a photo of the steps. |
 |
| We tried to find some small paths into the woods to get away from the dog walkers. Little did we know that a parade and a "walk" were scheduled for the area on Sunday so people were everywhere. |
 |
| I could see me volunteering in this park. |
 |
| We tried to find a good spot with "cover" and a decent view of food sources. We did bring some toast leftover from breakfast. The squirrels got it. |
 |
| If we were on the hill, the birds were on the path. It's just the way it works. Perhaps camouflage next time? |
 |
| Every now and then we would get close to the edge of the park and see something that reminded us of where were were. |
 |
| But most of the time it's just a lovely walk in the woods. |
 |
| About to climb up and out of the park. |
 |
| See the birder on the other side of this clearing? We stopped so as not to flush the birds. Pretty soon a woman with a dog and her binoculars walked right through the field. So we skirted it around to the right so we would not disturb this guy. I started to realize that birding in NYC is every person for themselves. |
What else did we see? While signs warned of raccoons with distemper we only saw Eastern Grey Squirrels, Eastern Chipmunks (and domestic dogs - lots of them). A number of flowers are still blooming - primarily sunflowers, asters, phlox, Smart Weed, Joe Pie Weed and a couple of varieties of goldenrod. We saw a Purple Beautyberry, some stunning Weeping Willows, and clovers. The oaks were massive. There were few insects or else we just weren't looking hard enough. We did see some brightly colored flies and a bumblebee gorging at an unfamiliar orange flower (haven't looked it up yet). Plants and squirrels and other stuff are all posted as seen October 13 & 14, 2018 in iNaturalist.
All in all it was a lovely way to spend our extra time and a lesson for future trips.
 |
| The park watches and waits. |
NOTES:
*DH lived here from 7th grade to junior year of college. I gather he went to the park a great deal during that time, although much has changed. The park is safer and there have been a number of improvements. The Central Park Conservancy has done so much for all those who enjoy the park. We've been members for a while. [I looked at DH after we collapsed from our last adventure today and said, "Another reason we cannot live here is that we would spend all our time volunteering with the Conservancy." Either that or the High Line bunch.]
**There are amazing statues throughout the park - commemorating heroes and artists and such. Balto is a family favorite. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_sculptures_in_Central_Park
***We came as a family for The Gates, the installation by Christo and Jeanne Claude in 2005. It was amazing - a highlight of my life. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Gates
****DH went to school with a descendant of George Delacorte who donated the Delacorte Clock. Whenever they passed it, the young man would say, "There's my inheritance."
https://www.nycgovparks.org/parks/central-park/monuments/378
*****https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3VYPdypGB_Q The Billy Johnson Playground has been under construction/closed on a number of visits, but usually it was open for business (and lots of photos). There might have been some mischief in 2001 when people arrived to play and the gate was locked. Shhh! Don't tell!
******There's this story about a lab mouse that was sent up in a rocket by some Dalton students. One jumped into the reservoir to "save the mouse." Apparently he only saved some of the cotton packed around the mouse whose body was found near the site of the launch pad. It was a cold day, but he survived the rescue attempt. Unfortunately, the mouse didn't make it.
*******Although we did go by the carousel on the way to The Ramble:
 |
| There were riders - these are for the three of mine who were missing this time. |
 |
| I'm not sure I ever noticed these horses around the carousel fence. |
Cool Video of stuff to see in the park: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yT2EqmsekMw
Birding Information: http://www.philjeffrey.net/cpb_byLocation.html
The Bird Count (we are not disappointed - we were hoping for variety and got it):
4 warblers: Magnolia, Black-and-White, Palm, Blackpoll
4 sparrows: White-throated, Chipping, Field, House
Tufted Titmouse (there were a dozen or so on Saturday, but none on Sunday)
American Robin (4 birds total)
Northern Cardinal (3 birds - 1 male and 2 females)
2 Kinglets: Ruby-crowned and Golden-crowned
Rock doves: We saw hundreds and so didn't always count them. I have to go back with photos.
Mourning doves: 3 at the High Line, 1 in Central Park
Red-bellied Woodpecker (I know this guy's call and identifying marks)
Hermit Thrush (observed 3 or 4)
Black-capped Chickadee
Mallards - probably a resident population
Canadian Geese - "
American Redstart
Blue Jay - 1 photo of 6 birds heard and seen
We heard a Red-tailed hawk call a few times, but never saw it
Final Note:
We walked a little with the breast cancer striders. We were trying to cross the crowded roadway, but also wanted to keep pace with them for a bit. One woman came over and embraced me...my sister.
 |
| Thousands "Making Strides Against Breast Cancer" |
No comments:
Post a Comment
Thanks for coming along on the walk. Your comments are welcome.