Orchids in Bloom

When I was growing up, my Dad loved to buy an orchid corsage, usually in a rich purple, for my Mom to wear on Eastern Sunday. She would look so beautiful wearing that corsage, while we proudly wore our corsages of pink baby rosebuds and carnations.

The Orchid Show, New York Botanical Garden, April 17, 2018

The Orchid Show at the New York Botanical Garden this year featured installations by Daniel Ost and thousands of orchids held in the garden's permanent collection. It ran from March 3 through April 22, and I filmed the show on April 17. My four-hour stroll through the orchids resulted in a half-hour video, which I accompanied with music by Gabriel Fauré, Erik Satie and Léo Delibes.

The Orchid Show, New York Botanical Garden, April 17, 2018

Some of the orchids are identified in the video when they were labeled in the show. But most were filmed in the context of the installation, which combined so many varieties. You will see several corsage orchids in the video. When I saw them at the show, I felt my Mom standing next to me.

The photos were are taken on April 17. You can see more photos on my New York Botanical Garden page. According to the New York Botanical Garden, Orchidaceae is "the largest plant family on Earth."

The Woody Narrative

Woody Wood Duck, Prince of the Pond at 59th Street in Central Park, is my favorite wild animal to watch. I try to see him as often as I can, and I make up stories about him. I stand on the shore and call out, "Woody! Woody! Woody!" in almost a song, and Woody will swim over to me, occasionally requesting peanuts and sunflower seeds.

Woody, April 4, at the Pond, Central Park

I tell people that Woody thinks he is a mallard because he swims around with a mallard pair and chases male mallards away from the female. I tell them that the female likes Woody because he keeps her from getting attacked by mallards other than her mate. And when her mate copulates with her, Woody bites his tail feathers.

Woody and the female mallard he swims around with, April 4, the Pond

When young male mallards come to the Pond, Uncle Woody teaches them about peanuts and standing up against the mallards and behaving like a Woody Wood Duck rather than just a "normal" wood duck. I call these young male wood duck students "Junior" or "Not Woody." J3 (Junior, power of 3) is a young wood duck that Woody has trained recently.

Woody, April 4, the Pond

J3, Woody's student, April 4, the Pond

Much as it is fun to make up stories about what Woody does and thinks, every now and then Woody behaves like a male duck. This happened on April 4, when Woody was seen force copulating with a female mallard, a sight that was a little disturbing to watch. I recorded the behavior, trying to refrain from judgment, and then tried to present it as a naturalist's observation.

Watching male mallards gang attack a female mallard is disturbing, because it is brutal and primal. As I female, I found it evoked my fear of rape. This kind of behavior is common in the world of waterfowl, and has been labeled as "rape" by some naturalist sources. But that is anthropomorphizing behavior that apparently has evolved to continue the different duck species. Waterfowl, especially mallards and wood ducks, tend to hybridize more than any other bird species, although many of the hybrid offspring are infertile.

The female mallard remained under the bush for a couple of minutes after the forced copulation.

I have watched five mallards almost drown a female mallard. To watch a duck I thought I understood participate in this behavior reminded me that Woody is indeed a wild animal and will behave as wild animals do.

Woody, April 4, the Pond

I decided to accept Woody for the wood duck that he is. I have continued to visit him at the Pond, although I couldn't find him last night when I looked. He has left the Pond in the past, only to return in June to molt. If he has gone, I wish him safe travels and hope that he returns soon.

Tompkins Square Drama

An update to this blog posting, 8:30 April 4: Dora was picked up in Tompkins Square Park today, April 4, and returned to rehab at WINORR. There is a possibility Christo already has a new female in the nest, for he was seen mating with another female hawk while Dora was in the car. There is concern that if Christo and the new female have eggs and bond over them, Dora will be forced out if she is returned to the park.

When Dora, the resident female red-tailed hawk in Tompkins Square Park, went to rehab at WINORR in November for a wing injury, Christo seemed a bit lost, not knowing where she was. He eventually took up with another adult female and was courting her and mating with her. Dora returned to the park after rehab at the end of February, and after a rocky start, she regained her nest and her mate, and they have been mating regularly and building the nest. For a fantastic history of the drama, see Laura Goggin's blog.

I visited the park on March 24 to check out the pair, and then visited again on April 2. When we arrived on the 2nd, Dora had just been in a fight with another adult red-tailed hawk (apparently not the female Christo had been mating with, nor Christo himself, but a new hawk who had been in the nest). Dora won the fight, but seemed very shocky afterward. We saw her on a low branch near the dog run, and we watched as Christo came in to mate with her, and then as she flew in short bursts from tree to tree before going into the nest. She mated at least two more times, and Christo fed her.

Christo on top of Dora, mating, Tompkins Square Park, April 2

The Chasing the Hawks video shows the pair on March 24 and April 2. To skip to April 2 to see Dora and her behavior after the fight, go to minute 6:37.

These photos were taken on March 24.

Dora on the nest, March 24

Christo, March 24, Tompkins Square Park

Dora on April 2, showing her wonky wing.