Pale Male was near Cleopatra’s Needle behind the Met on Wednesday evening. He was in a high tree branch swaying back and forth in the wind. He would move his head back and forth to keep his balance, as if he were a person on a boat leaning back and forth to stay upright.
Pale Male has been so consistent in his hunting patterns these past few weeks. On late Sunday afternoon, I saw him catch and eat a rodent, yet again behind the Met.
Saturday was a great day for birding. Once the rainy weather had cleared up, the park was full of active birds. Sunday was quieter, but there was still lots to see. Highlights for me included a Solitary Sandpiper, Rose-breasted Grosbeaks eating Jewelweed, assorted warblers and close up views of a Black-crowned Night Heron.
I had heard stories of very large turtles in Central Park, but since I’d never seen one thought they were a myth. These stories included one about a 75 pound turtle being moved from Turtle Pond to the Lake in 1997, and various tales of ducklings being eaten by large turtles. These stories always seemed as plausible as the Loch Ness monster being real!
But they must be true, or at least partially. On Sunday, I saw the largest fresh water turtle I’ve ever seen. It was huge! It was between 2 1/2 and 3 1/2 feet and slowly moved about a cove in the Lake called the Oven.
I hope it gets looked after during the Lake’s renovation. Maybe it can go back to Turtle Pond, although I suspect we’d have fewer goslings and ducklings reaching adulthood.
On Saturday, I continued to experiment with different techniques for photographing hummingbirds, this time trying to use more natural light with mixed results. They are more realistic but less clear than my flash pictures.
On Wednesday, Pale Male continued his habit of hunting behind the Metropolitan Museum. I arrived just after he had finished his evening meal.
