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Message: <blockquote data-quote="Pinewood" data-source="post: 3016402" data-attributes="member: 10255">a cruiseHello all,Sunday night, was clear with a light wind, perfect for a river cruise.  I joined a friend for a trip, on the East River, from the South Street Seaport, to beyond the Hell’s Gate Bridge, about ten km,, in each directon.  The cruise was sponsored as an “Eco Cruise,” by the New York Audubon Society.  The main object was to look at the bird life on the islands and islets of the East River, which is really a tidal strait.  Our vessel was a New York Waterways Taxi, a substantial boat which had a head, or loo,  and a bar, all the mod cons for a nice trip.The first island was U Thant Island, a pile of rocks and trees, just opposite the United Nations Building.  The former secretary general of the United Nations, U Thant, was said to enjoy being rowed there for contemplation and meditation.  It is really an artificial island formed from rubble excavated for a streetcar tunnel under the river.  The tunnel was later included in New York’s metro. Great black backed gulls and American herring gulls share the islet with double crested cormorants.  The cormorants are numerous, on the East River, where they enjoy good fishing in the waters.   The next island was Roosevelt Island, where hospitals and a prison, once stood.  Today, it is well populated with many blocks of flats.  Some of the old buildings are used by the New York Fire Department for training.Farther upriver, we had a glimpse of a peregrine falcon atop a tower of the Cornell University New York Hospital building.  Their nesting box is often visited by intrepid ornithologist who check on the chicks, in the proper season.  The peregrine, also known as a duck hawk, likes stony outcrops near water, so a limestone clad tower, near the East River, is a fine home for this raptor. Mill rock has both black crowned herons and great egrets as well as cormorants.  It was also hosting fish crows, which are smaller than our usual crow and have a different call.  The island is bounded by deep water, so the birds visit Central Park or the New Jersey Meadowlands for food and return to regurgitate the half digested goodies for their young.  In addition to adult herons, there were many immature herons, which are brown.  Randall’s Island is parkland devoted to sports activities with a small stadium and various sport fields.  We reached the Brother Islands, as the sun set.  South Brother Island is deserted, as is North Brother Island but North Brother was the sight of a quarantine hospital, which housed Typhoid Mary.  It was later used as housing for students.  Now, it is in complete decay, and overgrown but barn swallows have found homes in its buildings.Off Hunts Point, on the mainland we turned back, passing a fossil fueled power plant and over some experimental turbines which use the swift currents of the river.  Maybe one day, the East River will be powering much of the city.  We returned to the South Street Seaport as twilight ended.All images by Louis Agassiz Fuertes.Happy bird watching,Arthur :hi:</blockquote>

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