But before I get to the geese, there were a bunch of good things in the park this morning. Swans doing beautifully, feasting amongst the duckweed. Lots of duckweed. Ducks, too, by the boathouse, leaving clear wakes as they swim, eat, swim. The life of a waterfowl!! The statue is looking quite fabulous in the green duckweed. Perfect spots for beautiful views.
In another area, it's nice the Parks Dept. is taking good care of the plants. Beautiful mulch circles ensuring the health of the big trees.
And, outside the Park, the Brooklyn College parrots (they've been living at BC for years, keeping warm all winter by nesting on the Athletic Field lights) have been moving. I guess there's more and more of them. I got a shot of two of them outside a house in Prospect park South. A little hard to seek since they're green birds in a perfectly matching green tree, but worth a try. This was on Stratford, a few houses north of Beverley.
The geese. Everyone who cares about them is announcing that they have been saved, that the Parks Dept/USDA/whoever murdered the c. 400geese last year, listened to the geese lovers, that all is well. Excuse me. What a load of BULLS**T!! Read the New York article: http://nymag.com/daily/intel/2011/06/geese_killers_not_even_botheri.html Don't just take my word for it.
Of course, this is my blog and I won't stop saying what I think.
Why this is BS:
1. They are killing 600-800 geese in NYC this year. Gee, they're not spending thousands of dollars to kill the approx. 26 geese now living in Prospect Park. Not only are they killing 600-800 other geese, they're keeping it a big secret so that no one tries to stop them . Apparently NYC citizens have no say in what goes on in their parks.
2. They're letting our 26 live because last year's assassinations/murders were so successful. This means that they can come back and kill any time they say there are too many. And, of course, there is no mention of what would be an acceptable number. No one anywhere is coming up with a number - typical, they might actually be held to it, and no bureaucrat ever wants that!!
3. I don't understand why anyone can be happy about this. They are killing thousands of geese all over the Northeast, geese that have NOTHING to do with airline safety. This is summer. No geese are migrating, and the ones that do migrate in season are living up north now, not here.
DON'T FORGET PUPNIK!! TONIGHT!! 5 PM TILL DUSK IN THE NETHERMEAD!!
You are absolutely right about the geese.
ReplyDeleteThere is nothing to celebrate.
That they are leaving the tiny number of geese at PP alone is only because it is not worth their time to try and chase a handful of geese around a big lake.
Otherwise, it is bad news all over.
Even one of my flightless ducks (Angelina) is missing at Harlem Meer for two days and is presumed dead.
Someone got to her, as she was perfectly healthy two days ago. Her mate (Brad) swims frantically around the lake looking in vain for her.
The geese and ducks can survive blizzards, hurricaines, lightening, storms, zero temperatures and the heat of summer.
What they can't escape however, is the wrath of humans.
Summer is indeed, "The mean season."