For The Birds

Yesterday afternoon along the Arthur Kill, I communed with this creature, which I thought erroneously an osprey.  Peregrine?  Some type of hawk?  I was amazed that while tearing apart its rare-rat lunch (I declined a portion), it allowed me within 10 feet!  More fotos of the encounter at the bottom of this post.  I knew I would post some fotos, but in considering a context, it occurred that the sixth boro (and beyond waters) is ideal  bird-look space.

Here an egret or heron steals across a dawn shot.

While Cyprine was easing in, a gull streaked across a foto.

A wonderfully-titled work in Pamela Talese exhibit is “Je n’egret rien.” Check out her show before October 30!  Pamela’s caption reads, “The ITB (Integrated Tug & Barge) Jacksonville came into the Navy Yard pretty beat up. As I was painting, I noticed a white egret splashing around in the waters of Dry Dock 5—wildlife among industry!”  Coexistence!  Check out these birds-in-the-meadowlands tugster fotos here.

As bulker Oxygen came in yesterday, a gull escorted it.  Oxygen referred to here is about six months new, headed for Port Newark although I don’t know what cargo.

Here’s a first for tugster:  Bowsprite‘s art migrated electronically from her site to mine, and it shows self-help-oriented Laridae.  Related to birds, recall my suggestion in September that Bowsprite can fly.

Pioneer travels with its very own familiar.

“A swarm of starlings so darkened the skies one July day at precisely 1:33 pm that sunbathers left the beach…”  Sounds like a good opener for a sci-fi tale.

But back to my hawk.  At one point when I closed within 10 feet, it picked up its lunch with its left talon, and hobbled back.  Another bird might use its beak for that.  I took that as a indication of its self-confidence.

Long beautiful legs.

All fotos by Will Van Dorp.  Here’s an older birds-post.  A Moveable Bridge has tracked some geese, and if you check in at Reid’s on 1000daysatsea Day 914, you’ll see he’s begun communing with a heron.