Hello all,
Eleven days, ago, we had about sixteen cm. of snow. By last Sunday, only the main paved footpaths were cleared, so I did not venture on my favourite footpaths because of ice and snow. I did walk around the Lake in Central Park where I spotted an occasional visitor,
an American black duck, sitting on the ice of the mostly frozen Lake.
Today, I had to go from the Upper West Side of Manhattan to the Church of the Heavenly Rest, on Fifth Avenue, to hear a Schubert mass, performed by friend's chorus. Public transport is poor on Sunday, so I walked the three km., with a planned walk along the southern end of the Reservoir. My biggest surprise was seeing an odd looking
pigeon on West 82nd Street, sitting on a balcony, near the Park. Its chest was reddish but it was too big to be an American robin. Then I noticed the rest of its colouring and thought it was something else. I pulled out my 8x20 binocular, carried for the concert, and immediately thought that it was
an American kestrel. A bird watching acquaintance came up the street with his son, confirmed my identification. He went on to say that the kestrel was the most "beautiful hawk," to be seen and that this one probably had a nest on Broadway, nearby. I thought that I might have seen one, years, ago, but this was my first definite sighting.
Truly, this bird made my day.
The Reservoir had a a little ice, but the path was slushy and muddy, making a difficult walk when I was nearing my meeting with my singing friend. I did manage to see some
buffleheads swimming about.
I was happy to have had that little 8x20, proving that the best binocular is often the one you have.
Happy bird watching,
Arthur :scribe:
