Originally published April 10, 2013
The flowers are blooming, the birds are singing, and Central Park is so alive with great subjects for photography. I have been posting albums almost daily on Facebook (feel free to friend me and let me know you saw my pictures on this site), but I want to share some of the best pictures in The Chronicler's Tales. On April 9, I finally got some good pictures of the little saw-whet owl, which was resting in a tree at the top of the Shakespeare Garden.
He finally opened his eyes, and I snapped away.
The flowers have been beautiful this year, and I have enjoyed trying to capture them in closeup. The magnolia tree near Belvedere Castle had such a wonderful fragrance.
I especially loved photographing the orange tulips in the Shakespeare Garden. The bee and the ant were an added bonus. And I think the flower on the right, below, could have been a Georgia O'Keeffe canvas. Is it a Christmas rose, that flower that has been featured on the covers of the PM Saga? I like to think so, even if it isn't! The purple petals are just too tempting for the Christmas tales.
The flowering trees have been so stunning, the color and beauty almost too much to absorb.
One of the most interesting afternoons I had was watching a red-tailed hawk sitting in a tree in the bird feeder area. Often when a hawk is in the neighborhood, the birds and squirrels hide out, and there is barely a sound to be heard. But with this hawk, the birds kept coming to the feeders and the hawk stayed in the tree, turning his head every now and then to look below. I watched for about two hours, then the hawk flew down. At first we thought he had caught a squirrel, then realized he had caught his talons on a stick and had the hardest time breaking free of the branch. It at first seemed comical, then sort of sad. Someone said the hawk was one of two that had been poisoned and rehabilitated, but perhaps there was some brain damage. At any rate, it was exciting to see the hawk, and to watch it move and fly.
Some of the most beautiful birds in the park are the woodpeckers. The park has red-bellied, hairy and downy woodpeckers, and I've seen all three at the feeder area. Often I will hear the red-bellied high in a tree near the Lake, and will stop to watch him work his way through the bark.
The cardinals, blue jays, goldfinches and other birds throughout the park are so fascinating to watch. There are so many lovely people I meet in the park, who are so devoted to protecting the birds and the Central Park environment.
One of the most interesting birds I've seen has been the cormorant. I had seen them in China when the fishermen went out at night in their boats, but it was so exciting to see them in Central Park and see their bright blue eyes.
Watching the turtles take sun has also been a fun pastime. They mass themselves on the shore of the Lake, the Reservoir, Turtle Pond, and the Pond. They are little tanks, stacking themselves, turtle on top of turtle, all baking and basking in the sunshine. Are they planning an assault on Belvedere Castle? Could be. But their progress has been very slow, so I am not panicking. Yet.
