Beautiful blue heron

It was a blustery day today, as Disney's version of Winnie the Pooh used to say. And there, standing quite calmly by the side of the lake, was a big, beautiful blue heron. I got within 10 feet of him, but no closer as I didn't want to scare him away. Previous heron sightings have always been across the water, and hard to see. This one was right at the lake edge by the path. AND he was not standing stock still, as I've always seen him before, but walking up and down, checking everything out.

Met up with Ed, who saw the snow goose on the Lullwater. Nice to know it is staying around. While talking, we saw a flying swan high overhead. It was moving way too fast for me to get a picture. We're not sure if it was a local or visiting swan. Quite possibly visiting, since it was very high up and headed out of the park. Maybe a visitor from Gateway, where I hear they also have swans.

I am pleased to report that Anne-Katrin is one of the 20 finalists in the Brooklyn Do-Gooder contest. Now a panel will select the top 5 Do-Gooders. Other Park people that we talked to think that the ultimate choices will be political decisions. Anne-Katrin, like so many of us who report on what's going on in the Park, is often regarded as a bit of a trouble-maker, so we are not optimistic about her winning. That's as nice a way as I can possibly put it.

I got a comment about the "birders vs. dog-lovers" disagreement that I mentioned the other day. Full disclosure: I am a dog owner and a member of FIDO. I never had much interest in bird-watching, although that is changing, what with the excitement of all the swans, geese, ducks, herons, etc. in the Park. I hear (rumor, innuendo and hearsay dept.) that some of the birders really hate the dog people. Hope that's not true. I really feel that there's plenty of room for all of us to enjoy the park.

Unfortunately, these big vehicles I saw the other day were not doing the landscaping that I had hoped. They just made room for big storage containers to be parked in the woods rather than on the road. I really hate the way plants are always the first thing to be sacrificed in the name of.....??? organization ??? efficiency ??? what ??? wouldn't it be nice if sometime concrete was the first thing to be sacrificed?

Raccoons killed while escaping!!

Yet another beautiful fall day, this one with a little bit of crispness in the air. There was a family feeding the ducks and swans, a mere 20 feet from the sign saying that people should not feed the wildlife. It has always been true that we in the glorious People's Republic of Brooklyn are not good at listening to directions. Signaling to change lanes is virtually extinct in this borough, the sad history of the founder of Vox Pop (stealing electricity rather than buying, not bothering to pay inconvenient taxes,) and the local constitutional right to make a u-turn in the middle of the block, are but a few examples.

There's a new addition to the park! A white duck seems to have come to stay. We don't know what kind of duck it is, but Anne says she'll do the research and find out what species it is.

Anne, by the way, is running in the Brooklyn Do-Gooder contest. We're scrupulously voting for her every day and hope that everyone she knows does also. Her full name is Anne-Katrin Titze. The site is: http://www.dogoodrighthere.org/

Anyway, the park is beautiful, but there were two dead raccoons NOT in the Park. I wonder if this is a result of overcrowding or wanderlust, but there were 2 dead ones. One on Parkside Avenue, near Ocean,. The other was on the corner of Beverley and Stratford.