Pinny Grows Up

I saw Pinny tonight at the Pond. He's a young northern pintail drake who has been hanging around the Pond most days since the beginning of December. Before that, there was a young pintail at the Pool (uptown in Central Park), probably the same duck. I posted a blog about this pintail on Nov. 24, Hey Lady, I'm Not a Mallard! (At first I said the duck was a female, then backpedaled rapidly when I found out otherwise.)

We have been thrilled to watch our Pinny (so much easier than saying young northern pintail drake each time) transition from his "baby feathers" to his adult magnificence. He is a duck with a lot of personality.

Pinny with his pintail, the Pond, Central Park, Feb. 18, 2017

My Pinny Grows Up video is the result of three months of filming, and shows Pinny from Nov. 24, 2016, through March 17, 2017. It is set to music by Beethoven, the Trio in E Flat Major, Op. 38, performed by Paul Pitman and obtained from MusOpen.org, a royalty-free music source.

This group of photos shows the transition from youngster to adult with adult feathers. The pintail appeared in February, and is very visible in the fourth photo.

Dec. 7, 2016

Dec. 28, 2016

Jan. 17, 2017

March 17, 2017

The following photos follow Pinny from Dec. 21, 2016, through March 17, 2017.

A Wilson's Snipe at Triplets Bridge

After the storm on Tuesday, Central Park became a temporary home for a number of birds stranded in the snow. Among the visitors (including numerous woodcocks) was a Wilson's snipe (Gallinago delicata), who appeared at Triplets Bridge on March 16 and stayed through March 17. I filmed the bird both days, and set both videos to music by Charles Gounod.

Wilson's snipe at Triplets Bridge, March 17, 2017

The two videos show the bird hunting for worms under the water, bobbing and bobbing.

This set of photos shows the bird on March 16.

These photos are from March 17.

This was not the first Wilson's snipe I've seen, but this bird was the first I was able to photograph close enough to get good shots. The last one I photographed was on April 10, 2014. Here's one of the grainy photos from that day.

Ready for the Closeups

We had the great joy on March 1 of watching a first-year red-tailed hawk for a couple of hours fly around, perch on low branches, run around on the ground attacking bark and missing squirrels, then finally fly to a hole in a tree and grab a squirrel. The youngster then ate the squirrel on the ground, before flying out of the Ramble. I was able to get a lot of video and some really nice closeup photos.

First-winter red-tailed hawk, the Ramble, March 1, 2017

I call the video Squirrel Hunt. There is some graphic hawk-dining footage here, so be advised.

Lots and lots of photos. Enjoy!

This is a magnificent bird, and I kept telling anyone who would listen that day, "I live for this!" With all the news about assaults on the environment and elimination of protections for wildlife, I offer these photos and videos as a reminder of what can be lost if we aren't vigilant and willing to fight for these gifts to our lives.