A Pintail Visitor

On Sept. 21, a female northern pintail duck visited Turtle Pond. I have rarely seen pintails. In fact, the only other times I've seen pintails in Central Park were Nov. 20 and Nov. 30, 2013, when male pintails (I think two, though both sightings may have been of the same male) visited the Pool at 103rd Street and the north end of the Reservoir.

Female northern pintail at Turtle Pond, Sept. 21, 2016

I included the male pintails I saw in 2013 in my Reservoir Ducks II video. I am now including that footage, plus video I took on Sept. 21, in a new Filming the Feathers video. The music is the third movement of a Beethoven wind octet, performed by Soni Ventorum Wind Quintet.

The Audubon Web site has a gorgeous pintail photo, and a lot of good info on these handsome birds.

The first five photos in the following gallery are of the male pintail duck taken in November 2013. The other photos are of our female visitor on Sept. 21.

An American Bittern in the Ramble (in May)

Last week an American bittern was sighted at Azalea Pond in the trees, and the following day it was sighted at the Point. I didn't find the bittern either day (I did look). But it reminded me that I had seen a bittern in the spring, but that I hadn't posted photos or a video.

An American bittern at the south end of the Oven, May 8, 2016.

So here they are! The bittern is a beautiful but very shy heron, with a longer bill and longer neck than the similar black-crowned night heron and yellow-crowned night heron. I noticed that the coloring of the American bittern is very similar to that of a young black-crowned night heron.

These birds are rarely in the open, and are most frequently spotted among the reeds, as this one was. They are carnivores, eating fish, frogs and insects primarily. For more background on the American bittern, visit the Cornell Web site.

The Hawk Himself, and a Young Gull: Two New Videos

On July 17, I visited Governor's Island for the first time. I've already written about the young common terns we found there, and posted a video. Now I offer a new video of a young herring gull, set to waltzes by Frédéric Chopin, 

This young bird was such a joy to watch, as was the supervising parent. 

I found Pale Male in the Ramble on Sept. 9 and 10, the first day in the late afternoon over the chip path north of Azalea Pond, and the second day in the early afternoon just south of Azalea. I put together a video for the two days, hoping to show Pale Male's zen side. On Sept. 9 I was able to get eye level with him by climbing on a rock to be even with the branch he was on. It was thrilling to be that close, and to get closeup video of him.

On Sept. 9, the day I was eye level with Pale Male, I didn't have the best light for photographs. The video shows him off much better.

Pale Male just north of Azalea Pond, Sept. 9, 2016, from the chip path.

These photos have been lightened to try to show his eyes. The first of the four was taken from below; the other three I took from the rock.

Sept. 10, I found Pale Male south of Azalea Pond on my way through the park before the Yankees game. I watched him for about a half hour, then headed off to the Pond. My friends came to watch him, and reported later in the day that he had spent the afternoon there until he caught a mouse and at it in the Gill (the stream west of Azalea Pond). The little squirrel came down the tree, then remembered Pale Male was right above him. He froze, cried, then finally escaped back up the tree. Pale Male didn't pay too much attention to him.