A Blue Grosbeak Dines on Bees

Birders were abuzz when a blue grosbeak (Passerina caerulea) was reported in early May at the beehives in Battery Park (at the southern tip of Manhattan). I visited the BeeVillage on May 10 and 11 and was able to get some video for a Filming the Feathers entry. The bird made many appearances, but always jumped around and flitted under and around the beehives. Only three photos came out, and you have them here (including one on the video).

Blue grosbeak, Battery Park, May 11, 2017

The video is set to one of the London Trios of Franz Joseph Haydn. The bird was very, very active, and very, very difficult to film! I left the video a bit jumpy to show the skittishness of this little guy.

Blue grosbeak, Battery Park, May 11, 2017

BeeVillage, Battery Park, Lower Manhattan, May 2017

Tree Swallow Aerialists

These tree swallows (Tachycineta bicolor) are amazing aerialists. I watched them zip around the Jamaica Bay Wildlife Refuge on May 14 and 16, darting out over the trees and water, going in and out of the nesting boxes, perching occasionally on the boxes or on refuge signs, and mating on a tree branch. They are amazing songbirds, but unfortunately I didn't have the sound equipment to record their songs.

“There is no sorrow like the murmur of their wings
There is no choir like their song
There is no power like the freedom of their flight
While the swallows roam alone”

— A Swallow Song, Richard Farina

Tree Swallow, Jamaica Bay Wildlife Refuge, May 16, 2017

I set the Filming the Feathers video to music by Béla Bartók (Romanian Folk Dances, Sz. 56, arranged for recorders, performed by Papalin) and Pyotr Il'yich Tchaikovsky (the Scherzo Pizzicato movement of Symphony No. 4, F Minor, Op.36, credited to European Archives), both pieces obtained from MusOpen.org, a royalty-free music source.

“Even the sparrow has found a home,
And the swallow a nest for herself,
Where she may lay her young—”

— Psalms 84

I was able to photograph these beautiful blue birds on both days at the refuge.

“True hope is swift, and flies with swallow’s wings.
Kings it makes gods, and meaner creatures kings.”

— William Shakespeare, Richard III, Act 5, Sc. ii

Brooklyn Blossoms!

“What a strange thing! to be alive beneath cherry blossoms.”

— Kobayashi Issa

Ah, spring! Cherry blossoms entice us, tons of tony tulips thunder their brilliant colors, daffodils bedazzle, lilacs send out a scent so strong that all cares dissolve in fragrant splendor. I'm describing the Brooklyn Botanic Garden on April 21, when I filmed my latest Contemplate This! video.

Lilac blossoms at the Brooklyn Botanic Garden, April 21, 2017

This series of videos aims to relax the viewer with lovely images set to glorious music. In this case, the music is by Gustav Mahler, his First Symphony (1st and 2nd movements), performed by the DuPage Symphony Orchestra.

I took so many photos! Here are some, and you can find more on the Brooklyn Botanic Garden page.