Fauna and other natural things

[apl68]

That still leafless tree
Stands ankle-deep in yellow
Blooming daffodils

[Juvenal]

That still leafless tree
Stands ankle-deep in yellow
Blooming daffodils

Isn't that Bill Wordsworth over there taking some notes?

[apl68]

That still leafless tree
Stands ankle-deep in yellow
Blooming daffodils

Isn't that Bill Wordsworth over there taking some notes?

He was indeed a fan of daffodils, I believe.  This wasn't a whole field, though.  Just a flower bed.  Still beautiful.

[Langue_doc]

An alligator was discarded, presumably by its owner, in Prospect Park.

https://gothamist.com/news/alligator-captured-in-brooklyns-prospect-park-lake

The alligator appears to have swallowed a bathtub stopper, which explains its lethargy and poor health.

https://gothamist.com/news/alligator-pulled-from-prospect-park-lake-undergoing-treatment
https://www.nytimes.com/2023/02/22/nyregion/alligator-prospect-park-bronx-zoo.html

I hope the authorities find the owner and mete out the appropriate punishment for heartlessly discarding a sick animal.

[nebo113]

An alligator was discarded, presumably by its owner, in Prospect Park.

https://gothamist.com/news/alligator-captured-in-brooklyns-prospect-park-lake

The alligator appears to have swallowed a bathtub stopper, which explains its lethargy and poor health.

https://gothamist.com/news/alligator-pulled-from-prospect-park-lake-undergoing-treatment
https://www.nytimes.com/2023/02/22/nyregion/alligator-prospect-park-bronx-zoo.html

I hope the authorities find the owner and mete out the appropriate punishment for heartlessly discarding a sick animal.

A critter who should not have been in private hands at all!!

[apl68]

Near the alley's end
A low plume of purple smoke?
No--blooming redbuds!

[AmLitHist]

It's been blowing a steady 40 mph all night, with gusts above 50 at times.  The squirrels seem to be enjoying it as they chase each other around the leafless trees, though they do have to hunker down and dig their little toes in when a gust hits them.

[apl68]

Two squealing squirrels
Having an altercation
Disturb the park's peace

[Langue_doc]

Alligators on the loose in NYC.

https://www.nytimes.com/2023/02/24/nyregion/alligator-nyc.html

https://www.nytimes.com/2023/03/01/nyregion/whales-turtles-the-alligator-flaco-animals-in-the-news.html

In other news, whales are washing up on the east coast.

Why 23 Dead Whales Have Washed Up on the East Coast Since December

https://www.nytimes.com/2023/02/28/nyregion/east-coast-whale-deaths.html

Flaco, who escaped from Central Park Zoo, is still on the loose, and has been hanging around in the same area, according to some of my fellow birders. I haven't seen him yet.
https://www.nytimes.com/video/nyregion/100000008769783/flaco-owl-new-york.html?searchResultPosition=3

[apl68]

Alligators on the loose in NYC.

https://www.nytimes.com/2023/02/24/nyregion/alligator-nyc.html

https://www.nytimes.com/2023/03/01/nyregion/whales-turtles-the-alligator-flaco-animals-in-the-news.html

In other news, whales are washing up on the east coast.

Why 23 Dead Whales Have Washed Up on the East Coast Since December

https://www.nytimes.com/2023/02/28/nyregion/east-coast-whale-deaths.html

Flaco, who escaped from Central Park Zoo, is still on the loose, and has been hanging around in the same area, according to some of my fellow birders. I haven't seen him yet.
https://www.nytimes.com/video/nyregion/100000008769783/flaco-owl-new-york.html?searchResultPosition=3

More gators in NYC, huh?  When I was growing up in the 1970s there was a children's book about alligators setting up a whole underground society in the NYC sewers.  I'd love to see that book again.

Simon Schama once wrote about how the early modern Dutch had a whole genre of writing that viewed beached whales as political and religious portents.  At least one of these was translated into English and made its way into my abortive dissertation.

[Juvenal]

Alligators on the loose in NYC.

https://www.nytimes.com/2023/02/24/nyregion/alligator-nyc.html

https://www.nytimes.com/2023/03/01/nyregion/whales-turtles-the-alligator-flaco-animals-in-the-news.html

In other news, whales are washing up on the east coast.

Why 23 Dead Whales Have Washed Up on the East Coast Since December

https://www.nytimes.com/2023/02/28/nyregion/east-coast-whale-deaths.html

Flaco, who escaped from Central Park Zoo, is still on the loose, and has been hanging around in the same area, according to some of my fellow birders. I haven't seen him yet.
https://www.nytimes.com/video/nyregion/100000008769783/flaco-owl-new-york.html?searchResultPosition=3

More gators in NYC, huh?  When I was growing up in the 1970s there was a children's book about alligators setting up a whole underground society in the NYC sewers.  I'd love to see that book again.

Simon Schama once wrote about how the early modern Dutch had a whole genre of writing that viewed beached whales as political and religious portents.  At least one of these was translated into English and made its way into my abortive dissertation.

Which particular whale?

[OneMoreYear]

Today, I saw a family of deer outside the kitchen window, just hanging out in the backyard. Hubby is not a fan of the deer who jump the fence and eat his garden, though there is nothing to eat today (it's snowing here--not Spring yet!).  Hubby considers the deer to be vermin--he calls them "horned rats."  He has not yet convinced the cats to go after these large vermin like they take care of the bite-sized versions. The major problem is when the deer are in the streets--this is not a rural area, though we do have some nice city parks.

[apl68]

Today, I saw a family of deer outside the kitchen window, just hanging out in the backyard. Hubby is not a fan of the deer who jump the fence and eat his garden, though there is nothing to eat today (it's snowing here--not Spring yet!).  Hubby considers the deer to be vermin--he calls them "horned rats."  He has not yet convinced the cats to go after these large vermin like they take care of the bite-sized versions. The major problem is when the deer are in the streets--this is not a rural area, though we do have some nice city parks.

Deer control in urban areas can be a vexed question.  In rural areas like ours people generally have no trouble with controlling them through harvesting by hunting.  It is a form of predation, and serving as prey is deer's ecological niche. 

In urban and suburban areas that solution tends to run into resistance.  It isn't always feasible either.  So what do you do?  Capture and relocate?  Capture and mess with their reproductive processes?  It's a real challenge for whatever municipal authorities find themselves tasked with wildlife management.

[paultuttle]

Squirrels, bluejays, robins, chickadees, and such are all playing in my front yard as I type this. I do believe the neighbor has set out some more seed in the bird feeders.

And a woodpecker is making the old oak tree vibrate.

[nebo113]

Squirrels, bluejays, robins, chickadees, and such are all playing in my front yard as I type this. I do believe the neighbor has set out some more seed in the bird feeders.

And a woodpecker is making the old oak tree vibrate.

Good neighbor