Geese in the Park

A Canada goose family walking on a park path. Click to enlarge.

All heading to the pond. 

This one paused for a close up. 

Waiting for Snowdrops

I photographed these snowdrops in bloom on January 14th last year. Read about them by clicking on this sentence to go to that blog. When I went out to look for them on the 14th last week, there was no sign in any of the places where I usually find them. Disappointing. I will look for them again soon. Click to enlarge.

Meanwhile, as I was walking along the icy river, I saw...

 Canada geese on the shore.

So, the cold continues. There is no sign yet of winter flowers. Stay warm.

Happy Easter!

 

Here's to goslings.

Reflecting puddles.

Blooming orchards.

Spring flowers.

And picnic weather. :-)

Happy Easter!

Happy Easter!

“April hath put a spirit of youth in everything.”

Sonnet 98, William Shakespeare

Happy Easter

Time for some new yellow goslings.

And pink peach blossoms. Click to enlarge.

Time for more rabbits.

And a bunch of fuzzy ducklings. Easter time.

Despite everything, spring continues to unfold. And Easter Sunday has arrived on schedule. Here's an apt quote from Ending Easter (Amazing Adventures of Harry Moon), by         Mark Andrew Poe: 

 “Even without church walls, or doors or sconces, Easter had come. Even without altars or crosses, Easter had come” 

Happy Father's Day!

Goose Reflections

I was watching a Canada goose family (Branta canadensis) and was impressed by how often they did exactly the same things at the same time and struck identical poses, especially the goslings. Congruent like the two above. 

Or symmetrical like these two. Click to enlarge. 

Apparently they get it from their parents! 

And here's a demonstration of the famous goose step. 

Dabbling for Dinner

The photo seems to be crying out for a funny caption. Something about exercise or synchronized swimming, right? Click to enlarge. 

These Canada geese are tipped over and reaching down with their long necks to gather food plants from the bottom of the shallow pond. The one that's right side up in the back is a designated sentinel; that's a goose thing -- they take turns watching for danger. Every time you look at a flock of geese you will see that some of them, the guards, are watching you right back and ready to honk an alarm.

Here is a haiku from 1822 by the Japanese poet Issa, translated by David G. Lanoue, about that very thing.

how prudent! 

the geese post guards

awake, asleep 

Bush Terminal Park

Tired of being kept indoors by the cold, I ventured out yesterday to look at this new Brooklyn park. It was pretty darned cold, about 25 F, and I didn't stay long. Click here for information about and directions to the park. Click here for a great place to have lunch while you are there. 

The park is surrounded by industrial waterfront buildings from an earlier age.  Click to enlarge the photos. 

In the park, a flock of cold-looking ring-billed gulls, Larus delawarensis, were standing on the ice. 

More cold-looking gulls hunkered down on the rocks. 

The rocks by the shore were icy. 

A few Canada geese, Branta canadensis, were walking through the dry grass. 

A pair of American wigeons (Anas penelope) swam by. The male is  on the left and the female on the right. 

A few rafts of bufflehead ducks (Bucephala albeola) swam offshore. 

One of the buffleheads caught an arthropod snack! 

Closer! 

Happy Mother's Day!

Canada geese, Branta canadensis. Click to enlarge. 

Last Blog of Winter!

Brant geese on pilings in the East River at Brooklyn Bridge Park.

Click on the photos to enlarge. 

Click here to read a previous blog comparing brant geese, Branta bernicla, and Canada geese, Brant canadensis. 

The geese awake

"snow is melting!

melting!"

Haiku by Issa, 1763-1827

Winter Geese

There are lots of geese in American cities and suburbs. We see them grazing on lawns and flying overhead. Most of them are Canada geese, big birds 30 to 40 inches long that can weigh up to 20 pounds. The Canada goose has a black head and neck, grayish brown chest and body, a white patch under the tail, and a distinctive white chinstrap mark. I will say a lot more about Canada geese in a later post, but today I want to point out a similar looking but less common relative, the Brant goose.

Canada Geese, Branta canadensis, sporting handsome chinstraps. 

Brant geese are only about 25 inches long and weigh around three pounds. They are just a bit larger than mallard ducks. The Brant goose has a black head, neck, and chest. Seen from a distance it looks dark overall. Closer inspection shows a brown back, lighter underparts, and a patch of white below a short black tail. Their bills are relatively short. The broken white patch on a Brant's neck looks like a necklace or an incomplete collar. (Brant can be singular and plural like sheep, but it is also ok to say Brants.)

The Brant goose, Branta bernicla. 

Brant are primarily saltwater geese so they are not usually found far inland (although they take occasional forays to agricultural fields to snack on grains and grass.) They usually eat marine plants like eelgrass, sea lettuce, and other seaweeds. They have special glands that filter salt water from their systems and enable them to live on salty plants.

Brant geese breed far away in the northern tundra. They migrate thousands of mile to spend the winter along both coasts of North America. So if you see geese offshore during winter, take another look -- they might be brant. I took these photos of Canada geese and Brant in the same spot on the Brooklyn side of the East River near Fulton Ferry Landing under the Brooklyn Bridge. (The East River is a tidal estuary so it is comfortably salty for the Brant.)

Brant are accustomed to rough ocean water. I watched them doing something that Canada geese wouldn't even think about doing -- diving into the foamy waves caused by boat wakes crashing on rocks near the shore.

Born in the summer of 2010

It's 30 degrees and windy in New York City today. As I scattered seeds on my Brooklyn porch for the birds this morning I couldn't help thinking about the coming winter and how it will impact the birds. Some of them, like the northern cardinals and the pigeons, will stay here through the winter; they are called residents. Others, like robins and blue jays, have mixed feelings about leaving; some of them migrate but some don't. Still other birds, like winter wrens, migrate to here to spend the winter from even colder places further north. Regardless of the migration plan, winter causes upheaval; the birds face either a long cold season or a long round trip.

The baby birds pictured below were all born this summer in New York City despite noise, pollution, and about eight million people. Despite all that and snow, ice, and freezing temperatures, or a trip to Florida or Mexico, they will be here next spring to start families of their own.

A family of Canada geese, Branta canadensis, in the East River.

This baby rock pigeon, Columba livia, was born
on a Manhattan building ledge. 

Baby American robins, Turdus americana, look like
adults with spots.This one was born in a tree behind
the Metropolitan Museum of Art. 

These Mallard ducklings, Ana platyrhynchus, were
born by The Pond in Central Park, across the street
from the Plaza Hotel. 

This baby blue jay, Cyanocitta cristata, was born
on Manhattan'supper west side in Central Park near
the Shakespeare Garden. 

This baby northern cardinal, Cardinalis cardinalis,
was born in my condo garden in Brooklyn.