As a novice bird watcher, I was totally thrilled to see 4 egrets standing on a log together. Pretty sure they're egrets. By the time I got my camera on, one made a break for it - you can see him/her swimming to the right in one picture, and a bit further to the right, framed by two trees, in the other.
Some more feedback on "Hands Around the Lake." There have been some comments to an article about the event that appeared in the Brooklyn Paper. One in particular was quite critical - that the event was poorly attended, that the organizations were only involved to make money, and that there were better tactics to take. Brooklyn Paper said there were only 130 people. I think there were more like 200, and I did an informal count. Not everyone was scrunched together in one bunch.
Back in the day, I was pretty active in the protest world. Like a lot of other baby boomers, it kind of slowed down over the years, as I got involved with work, having a family, etc., etc. Lately, however with a little more time and a lot more negative things going on, I've been getting back into it, and remembering some of the earlier lessons I've learned. First, movements never start big. They start small, the word gets out, and hopefully they grow. I had put some of the "Hands" photos on my Facebook page, and got some friends asking, "What is this thing about the geese?" The word is spreading. Yeah, immediate gratification is always a thrill, but in the real world, things take time.
And as I recall, a lot of movements fell apart because of so much disagreement among the participants about how to attack the problem, who the "enemy" was, etc. this is one of the reasons I was so happy with the "Hands" event. There were representatives of very different groups, with a variety of interests, but all coming together with a common goal - keeping the Park a welcoming environment for wildlife.
One more thought: the fact that there are negative comments in the Brooklyn Paper is less important than the fact that the article was there at all. That old "there's no such thing as bad publicity" idea. For example, We went to Seneca Falls last summer, to the Women's History Museum. These women, these early suffragettes, were insulted, laughed at, made fun of, treated horribly in the press and the view of the general public. One of them (and I'm sorry I don't remember which one) was asked how she felt about it. She said it didn't bother her, because it meant that people were talking about the issue, and that was what mattered. What a great attitude!!
To PAC: Yes, the tagged geese were reported - it's how I knew that they were actually from Canada. I don't know about the tightness of the tags, but am including photos of the bent neck. Does it look OK?
The good
ReplyDeleteI appreciate at.this article
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From that picture, they don't look like Egrets, they look more like Cormorants.
ReplyDeletei agree with ssnole, not Egrets at all...cormorants for sure....and also I think Canada geese are great, in a gumbo or christmas dinner, not in PP lake,
ReplyDeleteCormorants. Thank you birders. Whatever they are, I think they're beautiful and graceful and just hope the mayor doesn't decide to kill them too.
ReplyDeleteNice post.
ReplyDeleteI agree with all you say.
Yes, movements always start small. And it can seem for a long time, they are being ignored. Or, as you point out, there is initial resistence and derision.
But, if a cause is truly just and its leaders are not easily demoralized and dissuaded, eventually justice will win out.
Fighting for justice for animals and wildlife, is, as you point out, especially tricky.
For example, do we as advocates for the geese support the use of non-lethal alaternatives such as harassment and egg oiling as replacements for gassing geese?
That is actually a very hard question to answer and agree on, even among the organizations that participated in last Saturday's rally for the geese.
And, indeed there might not be a difinitive "right or wrong" answer here as it largely depends on the particular circumstances of a particular location.
Personally, I have taken the postion of not supporting the alternatives at this time for two reasons: I don't see an "overpopulation" of geese at Prospect (or Central Park) and I believe we have to be careful about supporting negative perceptions that label the geese as "pests" to "be gotten rid of."
Still, this is a somewhat precarious position to take as the last thing we want to see is more goose gassings.
In essence, some of these issues and questions are not easy to come up with unified positions on. But, as you point out, that does not mean we cannot come together in a general effort to support wildlife and geese.
As far as the goose with the yellow band, were you (or others) told the age and sex of the goose?
I think it important for Prospect Park observers to carefully monitor this particular goose. Is she able to turn her head fully around and bend her neck easily? Do the other geese accept her? Is she paired up with another goose?
It could be that her neck has widened since the band was put on. It appeared to me to be too tight. But, I only saw the goose briefly.
I think if she is able to move head and neck freely and otherwise fit into the group, she is probably OK. But, if having difficulty or looking obviously uncomfortable, the band should be removed or replaced.
Just my two cents. ;)
Cormorants will never be killed as they hunt their own food, diving deep in the water, and never beg or come near people. They are mostly in Jamaica bay, where they can dive for tasty salt water fish.They were at PP lake maybe because it is too early for the fish to be in Jamaica Bay.
ReplyDeletethey will never be a problem like geese, as they do not poop near people, and will never over populate.
Actually, believe it or not, cormorants are also overpopulating and now are considered a nuisance, after having been endangered previously!
ReplyDeleteYes, do a Google search under "cormorant slaughter" and you'll see some disturbing stuff. There are people out there who absolutely hate them.
ReplyDelete