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I had to walk long and far yesterday to find any ducks, geese or other water birds in Central Park.
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The Reservoir, Turtle Pond, Harlem Meer and even the Boat Lake appeared nearly devoid of all, but a scattering of mallards here and there.
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Only the Boat Lake contained any geese and one had to walk towards Bethesda Fountain to finally find the family of four weaving in and out from passing row boats and throngs of people.
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The anemic numbers of water birds in Central Park this time of year is utterly shocking and it is hard to understand the reasons for it.
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Yes, Central Park conducts an extremely aggressive program of goose harassment throughout most of the year and this obviously impacts other waterfowl, but to my knowledge, Geese Police is not active in Central Park -- yet.
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So, other than harassment, what else could account for such dramatic drop-offs particularly in mallard populations in Central Park?
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I honestly don't know -- unless the lack of geese and particularly heavy human activities is having an inhibiting effect on mallards and other water birds.
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Or, its also possible that last year's particularly harsh winter in NY took out far more ducks and other water birds than was previously realized.
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I felt throughout yesterday's walk in the park that I was not so much in a park at all, but rather in the middle of Times Square on New Year's Eve.
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True, it was a Sunday afternoon, the weather was delightful and the park is beautiful, attracting hundreds of thousands of people. But, it all just seemed tremendous overload for all of the senses.
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I was at the point of feeling truly miserable and somewhat depressed when finally seeing the family of four geese seemingly dodging row boats in the water near Bow Bridge.
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It was the first time all day I actually felt excited.
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My eyes tried to follow the geese in the water, but I quickly lost sight of them due to crowds and tall foliage surrounding the lake.
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I then wandered around and finally found a tiny quiet bank by the water that was partially cut off from the crowds and sat down.
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After about ten minutes, the geese found me.
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It was nice. The geese came over, embarked on the small patch of dirt and rocks and just hung out for a while.
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Though I put out some small offerings of cracked corn, the parents and two fully grown goslings did not seem that hungry as much as they just wanted to relax and in two cases, even catch a little shut-eye. I suspect the two trying to catch brief rest were probably the parents.
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The geese appeared grateful that I helped to find for them, this tiny little refuge away from the maddening crowds (and boats).
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They remained there even after I finally left.
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Walking home, I was relieved that the day had not turned out totally in vain and that I was at least able to find the one intact goose family in Central Park. But, it had turned out to be quite a search.
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Gone are the days when one could easily find ducks, geese and even a few swans virtually on every watercourse in Central Park and in significant numbers.
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But, when wondering "where all the flowers have gone" (to quote an old song) let us not forget the seemingly never ending wars on wildlife that our city has been engaged in for some years now.
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This New York Post article from just a few months ago, summed it up well:
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Were have all the birds gone?
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Apparently, to be replaced by planes (and boats and fishermen and marathons and people) everywhere. -- PCA
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