Breezy Point — The Chronicler's Tales

On February 19, 2019, a super snow moon occurred. I was fortunate enough to be on the beach at Breezy Point in Queens, near the Silver Gull Beach Club, when the Moon appeared at 5:49 p.m. behind the sands of the beach at Fort Tilden. We watched the moon for 10 minutes as it rose in the sky, until it disappeared behind the clouds at around 5:59.

*Super snow moon over the beach at Fort Tilden, seen from near the Silver Gull Beach Club at Breezy Point.*

I took video of the moon rise, which I speeded up to 125% and set to Paul Pitman’s performance of the Moonlight Sonata by Beethoven (sort of obvious, but it works!).

We kept walking on the Fort Tilden beach as we headed to the bus, and watched as the supermoon changed from a bright orangeish-pink ball into a bright white moon, with the flashing lights of planes landing at Kennedy Airport crossing underneath.

*Time-lapse (8 seconds) photo of supermoon with lights of planes landing at Kennedy Airport.*

*The supermoon in all its glory, February 19*

"Her-bert! Her-bert!" I'm sure that's what the mama piping plover (Charadrius melodus) was peeping across the sand at Breezy Point on Jamaica Bay in Queens on June 14. I'm finally getting around to posting my photos and the Filming the Feathers video for these delightful little birds. I spent a very hot and sunny day filming the little Herberts and their parents as they rushed back and forth on the beach.

*An adult piping plover with a little Herbert, Breezy Point, Queens, June 14*

The Filming the Feathers video is a bit choppy, but I was basically filming blind on the beach with my Sony camera (my Canon was looking for some love in the repair shop that day).

The distraction behavior of the adult piping plover was fascinating to watch. These birds will feign broken wings and injury to draw the attention of a potential predator away from the chicks. You will see some of that behavior in the video.

This first set of photos shows the little Herberts on the beach.