Ships with bird names seem plentiful this year.  Recall One Ibis, ONE Apus, ONE Stork, CM CGM Aquila,  Oyster Catcher, NYK Falcon, NYK Crane… I could go on.   In the past months and not posted here, I’ve seen tankers like BW Raven and Yasa Flamingo, Yasa Hawk and Yasa Swan…,

but this guy, a bufflehead, photographed on November 28, is a sign of winter.

Mergansers, too, show here when the leaves fall.

This was my favorite “attitude bird” from last summer.

Birds like this gull eat well.

Transiting the Canal upstate and navigating the Hudson, I look for these guys.

Both eagles and ospreys announce themselves, and I hear them before I see them.

My favorite birds this year were of herons, like this guy by a Canal dam,

peaceful until we spooked him and he took off.

 

These guys have no manners.

And maybe you can help me identify this unusual bird that swam a river in front of our boat . . ..

This specimen appears to be related to this one . . . with proturberances from his head and swimming in the same waters.

Call this a post showing what else I see when I’m out;  all photos by Will Van Dorp, who rarely goes out sans camera. Why would I when there’s always the possibility of spotting a mermaid . . .

If you love birds and herons, specifically, check out babsje’s page here. On FB, check out tug44’s Fort Edward Wildlife Magazine and find out what Fred’s been up to.

And finally, here‘s a heart-warming NYC land bird story about a rooster found by a good samaritan and named Elizabeth Warhen.

It’s already the second day of a new year, and boats and birds plentiful populate the boro.