Band on Goose's other leg.

Larry remembered that I tried to digiscope the bird. Still learning how to. I think I can make out that the metal band says "BTO MAY".

Thanksgiving Birding Weekend

The tradition continues, although the weather is not too cooperative.

Yesterday we went to Jones Beach. The Teddy Roosevelt Nature Center and their conveniently located bathrooms were closed. The really cool the "countable" birds were found in the parking West End 2. There were Tundra Swans flying overhead and Snow Buntings. I love this picture of the Snow Buntings. They were very skittish, which is a good survival mechanism if you are a bird and intend to spend your time hanging out in a parking lot.

It was sort of early by the time we called it quits at Jones Beach, we decided to be adventurous and try to find the Norman J. Levy Nature Preserve. The preserve is built on a land fill and to reach it you have to drive though the town of Merrick's Sanitation Department. We passed the front gate, we passed the recycling center, we passed the parked garbage trucks and found the Center. Greeting you in the parking lot were the center's free range Helmeted Guinea Fowl. What is it with birds and parking lots today?

All last night we heard that the weather was going to be in the mid 40's with wind gusts up to 35mph today. Not ideal birding conditions. You can't hold the scope steady and you can't see a thing because of your eyes tearing from the wind. We figured that we wouldn't go out today, I would go to the Museum of Art and Design and Larry would stay home and do Larry stuff. I read my email and saw that there was a Barnacle Goose at the parking lot at Orchard Beach. The temptation to add another Life Bird to the list was too powerful a lure to resist. We bundled up and off we went. The bird was supposed to be among a group of roaming Canada Geese in the parking lot (again birds in parking lots). I parked the car and mixed in with the second group of geese I scanned, there s/he was. But it was a sad sight, the bird was banded and the band slipped partially over the birds foot and s/he limped around and couldn't stand on it foot. I posted the injured bird to the NYS Listserve, hoping that a wild life rehabilitator would come, catch the bird and fix the band.

I reported the banded bird. Maybe I will find out the sordid details of the bird's life.

After walking around Hunter's Island and Twin Islands, we went to lunch at The Lobster Box, located at the end of City Island, overlooking the water. After lunch, we gave Long Island Sound, one last scan and from our parked car we saw 3 Common Loons.

One more day left of the Thanksgiving Bird-a-thon.

The West Pond Conundrum

We have a little tradition. Larry and I go to Jamaica Bay Wildlife Refuge Thanksgiving morning. It started a few years ago, when Larry's mom stopped making the traditional holiday dinner and we were looking for something to do that didn't require us to drive on a highway. Some people go to the parade to see the floats and the balloons in the air. We go see the flotilla of waterfowl and birds in the air.

Today as we walked around (that's operative word in this sentence...around) the West Pond, I said to Larry, that I wish the birds were closer. He commented that it was strange that, even though the pond is round, the birds are always on the other side.

Today we saw hundreds of Scaup, Ruddy Ducks, and Northern Shovelers. The Shovelers formed a circle with their little butts sticking up in the air, going round and round, to stir things up below. I never saw them do that before. A new dance troupe, The Duckettes!

There were a couple of interesting birds, a juvenile Little Blue Heron, and a female Common Merganser. We saw a Black Crown Night Heron, a Great Egret and a Great Blue Heron also.

Jamaica Bay West Pond

Here is a White Throated Sparrow hanging out in a tree..

Yesterday, to kick off the holiday weekend, we went to Prospect Park. In the pond at the Audubon Center I saw this American Coot. The other Coots spent their time on the surface and then diving. This guy was the bad coot in the group. He was zipping right and left, annoying all the other Coots. He reminded me of kids in a pool. Marco! Polo!

Big day birding

Today was a really exciting day. We saw 2 life birds in 2 different states. I was in the car, on the road at 6:53am to go to Cove Island, Wildlife Sanctuary in Stamford, CT to see the Forked-tailed Flycatcher. It's been there for most of the week. We were welcomed by this sign. Encouraging words for a birder. The bird was there and there are bathrooms! What more could we want.

Finding the bird was no problem, as soon as we walked in to the Wildlife refuge, there were volunteers standing there. They had the bird in their scope.. As with any almost any rare bird in the NYC area, all you really have to do is spot the birders. Then locating the bird is a snap.

The forked tailed fly catcher (now I can say) was one of those birds I would see pictures of in Peterson or Sibley's Field Guides, and think, Well that's a bird that I won't probably ever see. That's why it was really exciting to actually see it. Larry and I thought the same thing about the Painted Bunting.

But there is he is!

Back to the Fly Catcher.

He is a great looking bird!

Especially when he spreads his tail.

We stayed in Connecticut for about an hour watching the bird. Around 9am it was getting really crowded with bird watchers. They've had over 250 birders see the bird from all over the country. People flew in (pardon the pun) from Florida and Las Vegas! All I did was drive 43 minutes on I-95.

There has been so many good bird reports this week, but the best still seem to be coming out of Jones Beach, on Long Island. They reported seeing a Northern Shrike, a juvenile Red Wing Crossbill. a Common Ground Dove, and an American Golden Plover. Last week we tried to see Ground Dove and the Plover, but weren't successful. Larry programed the Tom-Tom and off we went.

Jones Beach is a hard place to bird. It wasn't designed to walk around. It was designed to drive to, park your car and then go to the beach. So birding there can be a big pain. First we drove to the big parking lot, called West End 2 and walked in the pines and scrub between the West and East side of Ocean Drive. It was okay. We met another birder, who told us that they saw a Little Gull off the inlet. I thought I wouldn't be able to pick out a Little Gull from a Big Gull, so we didn't even try to find the bird.

Back to the car. We drove over to the Coast Guard Station where, we got really good views of a White Wing Scoter and a female Black Scoter. We walked to the Teddy Roosevelt Nature Center from the Coast Guard station. As soon as we got to the "comfort station" a non birder type person, in the NAA-NA-NA-NAA-NA sing song says "I saw the Shri-ike!" AAAARRRGGGH did we miss the Northern Shrike because we chose to go the Coast Guard station first! Double AARRRRGGGGHHH!!!!!! We met a birder on the boardwalk that over looks the scrub and sand where piping plovers breed who told us, He was just here 15 minutes ago. He was sitting on the fence. AAAARRRRGGGHHH. Those are the words a birder just doesn't want to hear. You just missed him!!!!! AARRRRGGGHH!!! Larry and I spent all day at the landfill next to the Dekorte Nature Center in New Jersey, driving back and forth on Disposal Road looking for this bird. The Northern Shrike. We weren't giving up that easily, I had all day.

As we walked on the boardwalk, Larry says Shari! I got the bird. We watched the bird in our scope, in our binoculars, naked eye for a while.

We walked back to the car and had lunch!

The Ugly Oyster Catcher

Every one knows the story of the Ugly Duckling. How a cygnet got mixed in with a flock of ducklings. Here is the Lawnguylin* version of the tale. The Marbled Godwit that got mixed up with a flock of Er-ster Catchas** If you look closely, there is a brown bird mixed in with all black and white birds with the big red beaks. Now I understand why people walk around with huge lens. This picture was taken with a 70-300mm zoom. I could have used more mm.

Hey, you looking at me!

This guy was one of many Grackle's at our friend's bird feeder this afternoon. In a blink of an eye, they were all gone. It was like magic.

*In Brooklynese Long Island becomes one word pronounced Lawnguyland.

**Again the Brooklyn accent, the "Oi" combination is pronounced "Er". Words like toilet is pronounced ter-let, Oil is pronounced earl. Oyster is pronounced Erster or Ersta. Again a true Brooklyn accent, "er" at the end of a word becomes an "a". Shower, flower, power, tumbler, pronounced as shough-wa, flough-wa, pow-wa and tum-bla. It's our version of the "Name Game"

Another day, another new piece of jewelry!

As my cousin Marie would say...

Nothing cures a headache faster than a new pair of earrings!

I am very excited! I have finally finished the piece that I have been working on for about 5 months now. It started with an idea that I wanted a bangle bracelet that was a Byzantine Bezel and then I wanted it to wave. Well, I had to test the concept in copper first, to see if the design would work. I hand set 30 bezels with inner bezels to create this bracelet. I decided on amber and amethyst after seeing my friends beautiful amber jewelry.

To catch a break from the bracelet, I made this ring. I got the cameo of the Three Graces last year and it's been sitting around waiting for me to come up with a setting for it. I chose a bezel that I sweat soldered beaded wire around. I also sweat soldered 2 pieces of half round wire to the shank so it wouldn't be just a boring flat piece of silver.

I will never be a hand model as you can tell. I have the hands of Dorian Grey. They age and the rest of me stays young and beautiful. HA! I am wearing the band-aid because the bezel roller went skating across the top of the stone and scrapped my finger big-time.

I am pretty proud of my piece and at the end of the term will be handing it into the Student Art Show at the 92nd St. Y. It is a juried show and the first time I entered something it was accepted. (Nah! that didn't go to my head in the least). They are Black Diamonds and Green Amethysts. I made those tiny little bead caps you can barely see in the photo.

As you can tell, jewelry is a big part of my life. I love making it. I have always been really good a making things with my hands and I have endless patience for small repetitive tasks. I am also a perfectionist. I always worry that I am going to RUIN the work at the last stage of fabrication.

If only I had a real studio space in the house with a real torch. A micro torch has it's limits. Larry would kill me if I brought a real torch into the house. What about a small acetylene one? I'll keep the fire extinguisher near by. Huh???

hahahah

:-)