Birding: the Central Park Effect. See it!
HBO. Saturday through
Wednesday and maybe beyond, at least once per day.
Today’s post is intended as a public service announcement.
At various times (check your TV guide or listings), at least once per day,
today through Wednesday, and maybe beyond, on HBO, there is a very fine
hour-long show celebrating birds, birders, and New York City’s Central
Park—previously unknown to me as a birders’ delight.
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| Moorhen |
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| Great Egret |
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| Tri-Colored Heron |
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| Mockingbird |
The captures of birds on video are a reason to watch, but
anyone can love gorgeous animals. The real stars of the show are the birders.
Even the nastiest hockey team or street gang might see in these nature lovers a
new kind of role model. Without pretention, the bird-nerds are articulate,
likable, down to earth, self-effacing, and in one case, remarkably courageous. As a group, they articulated perfectly the reasons for my own attraction to the critters, some of which I wasn't sure of myself. It can feel good to be part of a group, even as a Class D minor leaguer.
By the way, one well-known name among the Central Park group is novelist Jonathan Franzen.
By the way, one well-known name among the Central Park group is novelist Jonathan Franzen.
Although I still love football and like baseball, my new
team just might be The Bird Nerd Crawdads. Colors? Anything bright, though
sparrows and wrens are admitted without bias.
My photos today are from the Loxahatchee National Wildlife Refuge in southern Florida.
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12 comments:
Amazing photos.
No tv, but maybe catch it on Netflix later.
Yes, I am hoping Netflix, too.
It is a bit creepy to picture you as the birder Wally Cox... plaid shorts pulled high above your waist, black knee socks, wingtips (of course, 'wing' tips!!!), with binoculars strung around your neck and some goofy hat perched on your head. Can Miss Hathaway be far behind?
Thanks for the heads up on the program. Hopefully the rest of us will lose ourselves in it at some point.
Jean, thanks. I'm sure it'll be available somehow later on.
Brenda? Brenda . . . Who?
It's gratifying to know how you picture me. You've nailed it to a tee, though I thought you'd see me in a Heisman Trophy pose.
I forget who Miss Hathaway was.
Miss Hathaway... from Beverly Hillibies?
:-)
I will be checking Netflix as well. Love Brenda's description of you.
The moorhen looked like she got a little too curious about a bucket of paint. No TV here, either (what is wrong with us!), but I know some birders and quite agree -- they're wonderful folk.
Bird and word nerds :).
This sounds lovely. This morning I had a pigeon on my window for quite a while (much to my cat's delight).
We have an Audubon Center at Debs Park which is around the corner from me. Big proponents of keeping development out of the upper arroyo's Hahamongna (the long term fight with Pasadena).
I'm now Netflikless and cable-less
Oh - and at the Huntington, we have one of the very few Audubon double-elephant folios completely in tact. They have it permanently displayed at the museum, and change the page everyday.
I miss the Huntington. For a few years I lived down the street from it and could--and did--just walk over.
Oh wow, I don't have TV either! Just netflix. This is not a coincidence and is very interesting. I like your photos. The first one looks like origami or a collage. I thought it was at first glance...
Herots, Egrets and Sand Cranes - I love them
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