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?

More hands, Candleman, egrets

Candleman is completely cleaning up after himself and his ceremony (which I assume it is)! Instead of a trash pile, his little corner is now a charming outdoor alter, and I certainly hopes that it accomplishes what he wants and needs it to do.

Nice spotting of the egret mating pair, although the picture is a little fuzzy because of the zooming. I'm working on it.

And some more pictures of participants from yesterday's "Hands Around the Lake."

Swans at risk from fishhooks - yet again

I'm not sure if I'm the last to know or just another link in the chain, BUT one of the cygnets had a run-in with a fishhook. A couple of days ago, a man named John noticed one of the cygnets was in trouble, with something wrapped around his beak. He posted it in the Brooklynian (a blog), called the Parks Dept., and notified Mary Beth from FIDO. Mary Beth contacted the Parks Dept. They went and examined the cygnet. Apparently the cygnet had tried to eat a worm which was, unfortunately, attached to a fishhook, and it caught around his beak. The Parks Dept. freed the beak. Ed and Anne (who is a licensed animal rehabilitator) read about this and went to see if they could help. They got hold of the cygnet and examined it. His beak has a crack in it. Hopefully it will heal. When we went to the Park this morning, he was curled up all by himself, not head up and swimming like his siblings (top picture). We were very concerned. The good news: when we left the park 1 1/2 hours later his head was up and he was swimming with his siblings! (bottom picture) It's a good sign, but reminds us of how dangerous fishhooks are. FISHERPEOPLE: CLEAN UP AFTER YOURSELVES!!!!!

More bad news for animals in the park: a woman was attacked by two Rottweilers yesterday morning. It was during off-leash hours, but not in the off-leash areas. It is so important that we dog owners strictly abide by the off-leash rules, or we might lose them. That would be tragic both for our dogs and ourselves. I know how tempting it can be, especially after a long winter when it seemed like we had the park completely to ourselves in the mornings, but Spring is here, there are more and more people out there, and if dogs are seen as dangerous nuisances, we will lose this magical gift of off-leash play.

Pro-animals: this Saturday, March 26,12:00 noon, there will be a Hands Around the Lake demonstration to support wildlife in the park. Meet up at the Peninsula (Southwest corner of the Park, just north of the part of the lake that is nearest to the Vanderbilt Playground. By the Wellhouse, just southeast of Lookout Hill. Is that sufficient directions? I hope so.

Also pro-animals: Here's a photo of the lovely bird feeders, protected from squirrels, that we spotted. The feeders seem empty now - may because no one's filled them recently, maybe because the winter feeding season is over. Anyway, I love that they have their spot.

One final note: I have heard that there have been some comments here that have not appeared. Here's how to do it: Click "comment." Write the comment in the box. Comment as "anonymous." Press "Post Comment." You will see a box with some squiggly letters. Copy them as directed. This is to make sure you are a human being, not a machine. Then press submit. There may be a further procedure to sign in with a name, but since our computers know who we are now, we can't access that. When I get to someone else's computer, I'll check it out and see what you have to do.