4 Egrets 4

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?

Rumors, innuendo, gossip and hearsay

Time for a bit of a reboot on this blog. The story of the dead geese is everywhere, the Times, Brooklyn paper, on NPR (Thank you Leonard Lopate), the Ditmas Park Blog. I feel like I have missed the boat a bit, since we were away for a week. Also (true confession) my leg has still been bothering me, so I don't always go to the park, but rely on Ber and JJ and their reports. Anyway, I'm getting plenty of 2nd and 3rd hand information about this horrible event. As a former lawyer, I really do think that hearsay is inherently unreliable. However, Here's a roundup of some of what I'm hearing.

The geese were rounded up at 4 AM on Thursday - under cover of darkness - then put on trucks and gassed with carbon dioxide, supposedly a humane kill method which does leave the meat edible. The Parks department immediately started lying about the lack of geese. "they flew away." Impossible since 1) they were molting and 2) the goslings can't fly yet - no wings, just fuzz. The goose with the arrow in its neck, which the parks Dept. was trying to save a short while ago, was included.

The claim is that geese were removed to protect the planes, to create a 7 mile no-fly zone around JFK. Prospect is more than 7 miles from JFK - more like 12-13 miles. Supposedly, the people who did the gassing were originally planning to kill the geese at Jamaica Bay (right next to the airport). The Gateway people wouldn't let them, so they came to Prospect Park, since they had all the equipment anyway. Again, THIS IS RUMOR AND HEARSAY, NOT PROVEN FACT.

Commentators in all the papers, blogs, radio, are having their say, often very strongly and on both sides. The geese must die - people are more important. The geese must live - anything else is murder. And everything else in between.

The real problem: the Parks Dept. cannot be trusted to tell the truth. Their decision-making is secretive and surreal. The geese had a definite fan base and will be missed. Yes, there were too many of them for the space, but surely there was a better solution, if only the Parks Dept. had bothered to look for it. That's really all I think I want to say on this.

The Good News: I finally went to a doctor (an orthopedist) about my leg. As my daughter tells me, the first step is to admit you have a problem. The second step is to put yourself in the hands of a higher power. the higher power in this case is a rehabilitation person. Since my leg has been hurting, I've been using my "good leg" more. Now I need to rebuild the "bad leg," then it will stop hurting. So I shouldn't worry ab out "overdoing" it and injuring myself more. Nice to know. So I'll be in the park more, and I think I'll stick to what I actually see when I'm there. No more gossip,l rumor, innuendo, hearsay. Opinions, yes. the fun of blogging.

What I saw in the park this morning:

We only went as far as the Peninsula. We saw 6 geese. Four in one group, looking like they are starting a tiny flock, and two others. There may be more in other parts of the lake. We saw two adult swans in the lake. Tomorrow we'll make it over the the Boathouse and check on the rest of the Swan family. The paths are looking fairly clean - many trash cans set out now. All the cans that FIDO bought that were being kept in the skating building are now finally out. However, the paths into the phragmites are overgrown and truly disgusting - people are using them as toilets - and I don't mean just the smell of pee. There is one disgusting photo. You are warned not to enlarge it if it will disturb you. The fishing line receptacles are all full. Will they be emptied? Inquiring minds want to know. And the ducks look quite happy to have the lake back.

I love Memorial Day

What a beautiful Memorial Day this was! The weather was perfect, and it was truly the start of summer. Our own BBQ was not in the park - we are lucky enough to have a beautiful backyard, and on Sunday we had about 40 people over for food and laughs and a general good time. Our BBQ's are multigenerational - our friends and our children's friends. One guy said it was his 15th. He was a teenager, now he's married, a serious grad student, and waxes eloquently on the beauty of urban management. Swan Princess and Knight came (their first time) and I was thrilled to become part of the Swan sisterhood.

The Park is the backyard for so many Brooklynites! It has its own rites and traditions. First someone comes early to get the "spot." There are some favorite and choice spots this year. Usually it's grandpa. There he sits, reading his paper, guarding all the chairs, tables, coolers, cooking equipment, balloons and streamers - all the accouterments of a special family gathering. Sometimes it's the teenage son. If he's alone, he usually looks cranky - not thrilled to be up early to sit in the park. When he's there with his friends, it's a different story - 2-4 guys, hanging out, drinking sodas, laughing and making all kinds of undoubtedly tasteless jokes. Being responsible and having fun.

This year, the BBQ Plaza is really popular. All the tables were reserved. One man nearby man said he's gotten their at 7 AM, but all the spots were already taken. 5 AM next year! By Monday, all the trash cans were full with about a dozen bags around each one. It's a shame the Parks Dept,. can't do a mid-weekend pickup, but a pleasure to see that people do seem to be trying to keep the park clean. All the re3cent publicity - in the News, Post, Times, Brooklyn Paper and Channel 11 seems to have done a good job of raising consciousness of taking care of the park.

Technically, it's still spring, but it really feels like summer has arrived.

Cayuga still at lake, dredger arrives

Big entry today - A lot seems to be happening and I'm probably posting way too many pictures, but they say a picture is worth 1,000 words, and I don't want to be writing 10,000 more words.

The continuing story of Cayuga the duck: Cayuga was not removed by animal control yesterday, although he was netted and looked at. It's more likely a blister or growth than a pellet. We saw him today. Although he isn't going into the water, he looks like he's improving, at least to our uneducated and hopelessly optimistic eyes. He looks like he's moving his neck a bit better. We may bring him some canned corn - easier to eat than popcorn - tomorrow and see if he'll eat it. there should be an article in the Brooklyn Paper about him in a few days. A reporter was there and has talked with Ed and Anne. It turns out that Cayuga is not a wild duck, but a domesticated one that has taken up residence in the park. Since he's injured, you can get close to him. He looks plain black from a distance, but in the sunlight you can see iridescent blues and greens in his coloring. Truly stunning.

A pair of geese have taken over the dock - more recycling in action. The dock seems to have settled in one spot and is not floating all around the lake any more. I'm glad some of the birds are making good use of it.

The Smurf movie people are still around. They are planting all kinds of beautiful flowers - both real and artificial - all around the boathouse, which is temporarily Anjelou's, an outdoor cafe. They also restored a path alongside the waterfall, also with lots of plantings. There were also some fake lampposts laying on the side, ready to be put into the film. We asked one of the guards if the plants were staying. He said no, that the Parks Department didn't want them because then they would have to maintain them. A shame. The movie people are turning this area of the park into the way the park should be - OF COURSE we can't keep it that way. I'm pretty sure this will be a terrible movie, but I may have to go see it anyway, just for the gorgeous rendition of Prospect Park and the Boathouse. Normally I avoid all cartoon/comic book movies, but I think this will be the exception.

The steps up to Lookout Hill are still scrupulously clean. The pictures are of the different flights - one can see why it is such good exercise. there are even more than shown. The weather was perfect and we enjoyed every moment of our huffing and puffing.


We were very excited to see a dredger arrive - a boat named the Lake Mess Monster. We also met a Mr. Woess, the driver and in charge of it, and a naturalist. He works at the Prospect Park Alliance, a private non-profit. He says the Alliance is in charge of the lake, and that the news coverage (Greg Mocker's tire and TV stories, Brooklyn paper coverage, etc,.) has blown everything out of proportion. This may be true, although I hadn't noticed any dredger until the media coverage happened. I asked if the dredger would be cleaning out the lake. Not yet. First, they want to control the duckweed that grows in the lake, then they'll start on the trash. We'll see. He says to notify the Alliance of major trash dumps, not the parks Dept. He didn't answer my question about the trash can that's been sitting in the lake for at least a year. I'm concerned that the Parks Dept. has delegated the lake to a private company, since it is a public park. Where is the accountability?

Anyway, it was very impressive to see the launching of the dredger. I also talked to him about the swans. He didn't seem too concerned, and said that mute swans need a large territory, so that there shouldn't be that many here. He was very unconcerned about the nest - possibly for the same reason. I did some research. What he said seems to be not exactly true. Apparently when there's enough food, the swans are not so territorial and can live in large groups in peace and harmony. In fact, there's a huge flock of swans in Abbotsbury, in Dorset, England, where there are nearly 1,000 mute swans living peacefully. Of course they are fed regularly, but so are the swans in Prospect Park, what with so many people feeding them as a recreational activity. An interesting note: in Abbotsbury they have recently documented the second official sighting of a pair of gay swans living happily together.

One final plus: the fence around the BBQ cage is really down!! We shall rename it the BBQ Plaza.

And: A HUGE Congratulations to the Swan Princess!! Some time ago she took the N.Y. State Wildlife Rehabilitation Exam. She just found out she passed with a score of 99%! That is great. Among other things, it means she can perfectly legally take Cayuga to rehabilitate him. Love it when people walk the walk as well as talk the talk.