Wednesday, July 30, 2014

Kestrel

Ed Gaillard: birds &emdash; Juvenile American Kestrel, Central Park
Impatient

Tuesday I walked up the Ravine and Loch in the north end of Central Park--there were a couple of Yellow Warblers--then over to the Mount, the Park's composting area. When it's been rainy, the ditches in the dump fill with water and interesting birds sometimes show up. It's been dry lately, but there was a flying visit from a juvenile American Kestrel, who made an unsuccessful pass at one of the resident Mockingbirds and then perched at eye-level on a woodpile, wagging his tail in frustration. The blur in the background of the photo is one of the mockers, who were supremely unimpressed, not even bothering to harass the predator.

As I left the park, Chimney Swifts sortied out over Harlem Meer, and three Great Egrets flapped majestically off to the northeast. Not sure where they were headed, maybe North or South Brother Island.

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