An old adage from Broadway proclaims, "The show must go on!" (no matter what).
Out of Scotland this weekend comes an incredible video making the media rounds:
Thousands of starlings flying in magnificent dance. -- A ballet of the skies.
When seeing this spectacular clip, my first thought unfortunately was, "Good thing they weren't flying like this in New York City. Officials would have sent up an Atomic bomb."
I say, "unfortunately" because I seemingly have been conditioned to thinking in the negative when it comes to our relationship with nature in NYC.
Starlings, sadly, are one of the species (like Canada geese) on governmental, wildlife "hit lists" in the states.
Apparently, starlings fly in this mysterious "murmuration" style when spooked and attempting to avoid predators.
Most "prey" animals have to gather and stay together in large groups as means of protection. That is in fact, what enables most to survive.
If I have sounded overly concerned (or even alarmed) about the tiny number of geese occasionally spotted around Central Park over the past several months, it is precisely for this reason.
Being a "prey" species in nature, Geese typically "gather" and migrate in the fall in very large numbers.
One can, for example, find incredible videos on YouTube of hundreds and sometimes even thousands of migrating geese flying in the skies or landing in open fields or lakes.
That resident Canada geese from New York City would be forced to fly to wintering locations in tiny gaggles of 5 to 8 geese is to leave these birds totally open to predations -- mostly via hunter's bullets.
So, yes, I am very worried about the ultimate survivability of the 13 geese observed (not together) in Central Park over the past three months.
I have to hope they are able to find other flocks of geese to fly with before the winter sets in.
But, they won't find them in Central Park.....
Last night, there were "shows" occurring in and over Central Park, some endearing and funny, some not so amusing.
Due to yesterday's running marathon, there were virtually no runners in Central Park last night.
Like the previous two evenings, the park was extremely quiet and empty -- at least of human traffic.
But, I personally did not feel as "spooked" by the seeming eeriness, because the energy or vibe was different.
For one matter, it didn't take long to spot the family of three raccoons that I sometimes see.
They were merrily scooting about, but as usual, ran up a tree when spotting my dogs.
Raccoons are so cute. I love their masked faces, especially when staring down from a tree and seeming to curiously ask, "Who are you?"
Spirits always lift when seeing raccoons. Whatever uneasiness one might ordinarily feel when being in a city park at night with no people around quickly dissipates when noting any animals casually sauntering about.
(One of the most exciting nights ever in Central Park was last year, when seeing a coyote around the Great Lawn. Coyotes are absolutely beautiful and incredible animals! They gracefully and effortlessly leap over fences like gazelles. Extremely smart, patient and wary, too. Of course, the Central Park coyote was captured a few days later. S/he was taken to Animal Control and supposedly released later outside of the city.)
Seeing raccoons and other animals just says to me, "Everything is fine. Life goes on. Stay cool!"
When arriving to Harlem Meer last night, Brad and the usual "gang" of mallards came to immediately greet me.
They appeared to be more relaxed than the previous two evenings, though still a bit jumpy and wary. (Then again, that is normal duck behavior when no geese are around.)
Since the mallards seemed a bit more at ease, I began to toss treats just to gage if any might attempt to catch them in mid air.
There is a gentleman who has "trained" a female mallard at Turtle Pond to catch peanuts in mid air. I saw the trick last year and was duly impressed. The man named the mallard, "Daisy" and both he and the mallard put on quite a show for park visitors.
But, can I train my mallards to put on such a "show?"
I don't know. But, it seemed last night that at least a few of the mallards showed promise. While not actually catching any peanuts in the air, they watched intently before I tossed and made some late efforts to catch. - Perhaps its just a matter of timing and conditioning.
But, mostly I am just trying to condition or really "bribe" a few mallards to stay at the Meer through the winter to aid Brad in keeping a pool of open water. Of course, that is probably like trying to bribe Lady Gaga to stay home and have babies. Mallards, like Gaga, are fiercely independent and unpredictable.
But, maybe I will be able to train a mallard or two to catch peanuts in the air.
Since the mallards were relatively peaceful and relaxed last night, I sat on a bench for a while and tried to interpret their constant chatterings. Mallards are extremely conversational. But, I have no damned idea what they are saying.
Then again, most of my attention last night was diverted to airliners flying overhead.
It's funny. Some nights I am not at all aware of planes and copters overhead. And other nights, they are seemingly everywhere.
When finally leaving the Meer, Brad and all his mallard buddies, followed as always to the edge of the lake.
The departing gesture of these birds is truly touching and endearing. The only thing they are missing is a wave.
Walking home via way of the North Meadow and Reservoir, it seemed I was constantly looking up at the "air show" above me.
Not sure how many planes I counted either heading towards or departing from Laguardia Airport, but it was a lot. Some high in the air. Some low. But, once again, they and the copters seemingly taking over the skies.
What of course was not seen was any kind of "air show" of Canada geese.
Yes, its a good thing the thousands of starlings were flying over Scotland and not New York City.
Indeed, we can't seem to handle or tolerate even a couple of dozen geese in one of the world's grandest parks.
Nevertheless, at least in some parts of the world, nature prevails and the shows still go on. -- PCA
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