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Up into a tree the falcon flew with it's prize. Then it proceeded to reduce the parks mouse population by one.
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Up into a tree the falcon flew with it's prize. Then it proceeded to reduce the parks mouse population by one.

DSC_6574 dinner in the park

summernatureCentral Parkbirdsfalcons

  • dsc_6144 getting ready to take a dip
  • While walking through Central Park on this bright sunny summer afternoon, I looked up at the tree passing off to my left when my eye spied movement too large to be a pigeon, crow or other common avian member of the park. At first I thought it was an osprey, due to the white belly with the brown flecks. However later when I got home and checked it out online with birds websites, I saw that it lacked the dark brown stripes behind the eyes. Also ospreys are pretty much exclusive fish eaters, hunting little else, and as I was soon to see, this guy was definitely not hunting fish today.
  • For about 20 minutes the falcon stayed on this branch preening his feathers, but then he spotted a small mouse across the road about 30 or 40 yards away and off like a shot he took.
  • He grabbed the field mouse so fast, that if you blinked you missed it. It's too hard to see in this shot but that lump inside it's claw is that mouse. It's times like this that I wish I owned one of the other telephoto lenses that Nikon designed specifically for shots like all the ones I took of this falcon today, rather than their 70-300mm. Putting that aside it was still a really cool thing to watch live.
  • Up into a tree the falcon flew with it's prize. Then it proceeded to reduce the parks mouse population by one.
  • After finishing his snack our natural mobile pest control unit took off in search of more prey no doubt, but seconds before he did, he gave me a nice poise to create this cool silhouette. Thanks!
  • DSC_6746 lying in the bushes
  • dsc_6889 getting in touch with nature
  • dsc_6774 the inhabitants of Butterfly Gardens
  • dsc_6818 thanks for the leaf
  • dsc_6763 the inhabitants of Butterfly Gardens
  • dsc_6780 inhabitants of Butterfly Gardens
  • dsc_6902 inhabitants of Butterfly Gardens
  • This is what most scenes around the feeding dishes here inside the butterfly gardens at the Bronx zoo looks like every time I visit. The feeding dishes are large enough to hold several bird and butterflies at the same time, and seeing as all inhabitants here eat nectar not each other, all my photographs to this point here have been quite tranquil.<br /> <br /> Go to my nature gallery and skip ahead to photo’s number 1008 thru 1010, when on a much smaller feeding sponge and see what a bird that was not having a good day did when asked to share some nectar with his fellow tenant.
  • dsc_6947 inhabitants of Butterfly Gardens
  • dsc_6940 inhabitants of Butterfly Gardens
  • dsc_6959 mating monarchs
  • DSC_7177 bird bath
  • dsc_7059 sparrow in the sun
  • For someone only casually acquainted with the Bronx Zoo, it would be easy to assume that all the animals you'll find herein, will be found in cages or, one of the zoos numerous natural looking habitats. However the zoo was built on a large parcel of woodland, and you can find remnants of it everywhere. This one I rediscovered on my trip here last year, but the lighting and the position of the ducks made for a poor potential shot. On my trip past here this year met with much more success.
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