Why? Because I Like Them! II

As I noted in this blog last June (Why? Because I Like Them!), I sometimes edit photos in no particular order and without a theme, unless you call pix that give me joy a theme. If I think some of the photos are worth posting, I put together a slideshow video. I call these my Mickey Mouse Club photos (“M-I-C, See you real soon! K-E Y, Why? because we like you!”), which I imagine really dates me.

So I have some more photos for you, accompanied by an etude by Chopin.

The most delightful photos in this offering, in my opinion, are of the Eastern bluebirds I saw at Croton Point Park on November 17, 2025. That walk also got me a lot more photos of other birds, including American tree sparrows, song sparrows, dark-eyed juncos and a white-throated sparrow, plus a nice scenic shot of a Metro North train heading into the Croton-Harmon station. You can also see a cute squirrel, plus a mourning dove and some late-fall rosebuds.

Eastern bluebird, Croton Point Park, November 17, 2025

Metro North train, seen from Croton Point Park, November 17, 2025

Rosebuds, Croton Point Park, November 17, 2025

A trip to Delwit Avenue on Staten Island on August 1, 2025, was another source of fun photos. You may already have seen the white and glossy ibises in my last blog posting (Divine Ibises, February 15). But this out-of-the-way location, which in some ways looks like a dump site, yielded really good looks at yellow-crowned night herons, snowy egrets, little blue herons (juvenile and adult) and assorted sandpipers.

Snowy egrets, Staten Island, August 1, 2025

Least and spotted sandpipers, Staten Island, August 1, 2025

Two other trips to Staten Island rewarded me with shots of a bald eagle, a Cooper’s hawk and a photogenic mockingbird.

Cooper’s hawk, Brookfield Park, Staten Island, January 8, 2026

Bald eagle, Mt. Loretto Unique Area, Staten Island, January 13, 2025

Some of my favorite photos are of flowers, particularly closeups of the blooms. I went to the community garden at 89th Street in Riverside Park on September 2, 2025, and was so happy to take pix of some lovely flowers.

Central Park also rewarded me, in both 2025 and 2026, with photos of a long-eared owl, a northern cardinal, a fox sparrow, a dark-eyed junco and red-tailed hawks.

I'm still editing photos from past walks, and I expect that there will be another compilation post relatively soon. To keep informed, feel free to subscribe to this blog.

Special Appearances at JBWR: American White Pelican

An American white pelican (Pelecanus erythrorhynchos) visited the East Pond of the Jamaica Bay Wildlife Refuge in late summer/early autumn of 2024. This bird was out of its normal range (in breeding and migration seasons, the range is mostly west of the Mississippi), but seemed very content hanging out with the double-crested cormorants and mute swans.

American white pelican, Jamaica Bay Wildlife Refuge, September 25, 2024

American white pelican, Jamaica Bay Wildlife Refuge, September 23, 2024

When I look at some of the photos of the pelican, I get the feeling I’m looking at a picture that might have been painted by Henri Rousseau. I keep expecting a lion to peek through the phragmites.

White pelicans eat fish, and apparently the East Pond had sufficient fish to please this pelican and his cormorant and swan cronies. Cormorants and pelicans often forage for food together, even though they usually do not eat the same fish. As you will see in the photos below, the cormorants often stood on the same shore as this white pelican, along with the great and snowy egrets and gulls.

American white pelican with cormorant buddies, plus some ducks, September 17, 2024

The videos, filmed over several days in September and then on October 28, are set to music by Scott Joplin. I condensed the longer version into a short version, both of which you can watch below.

Below are some more of my favorite photos from my eight days taking pictures of this bird. You can find even more photos on my American white pelican page.

White pelican, September 23, 2024