Birds, Flowers, Dogs, Marcia Gay Harden, Law&Order:SVU-Harlem Pt 1

MON MAR 29th



I will start with a WARNING: this is a Very Picture Laden Post. It has been so long since I have posted that I guess I am just making up for those past missed posts. :D Also, I know that a good number of you are mainly visiting here for SVU pics. I do love SVU, but I want people to know that those pics represent only a very small percentage of the type of pics I take. :D

Well Spring started this last week at 1:32 pm EST on Saturday, March 20th and NYC is definitely showing some WONDERFUL signs of the season. All one needs to do is take a walk through either Central or Riverside Park in order to see the fantastic proof.

In Central Park the birds sre definitely out! Some of these are just "the regulars", but I still find "the regulars" to be quite outstanding!

Let's start with the Common Grackle. The first three pictures are of Males. The first two pictures were taken last week and the last one I took a few years back.







The next picture I also took a few years back and is of a Female CG and the one following (which is not my picture) is of a Juvenile CG.





The next bird is a Morning Dove and ....



.... this is a Male American Robin. In the second picture of the Robin you can see its translucent nictitating membrane, which is one of its three eyelids (the other two are the upper and the lower.) The membranes are used to clean and protect their eyes.



The next bird is a Downy Woodpecker. The first picture is from last week. The other pictures, which I took over the years, I am including so that you can see the differences between Males, Females, and Juveniles.



Male Downys have a red patch on the back of their heads.



Juvenile Downys, on the other hand, have their red patches on the top of their heads.



And Female Downys have no red patch at all.



The next bird from last week is the Red-bellied Woodpecker.

The first one is the Male and it has a complete red nape.



This pic, taken a while back, is of a Female and you can tell it is a female because she has an incomplete red nape.



You might ask why this woodpecker is called Red-bellied. It is not obvious in the above two pics, but as the season progresses their bellies become darker, as seen in this pic I took awhile back.



The next birds I saw last week were House Finches. The Male is red colored and the Female is brown. Occasionally, due to dietary changes, the Male can be orange or yellow colored, instead of red.

Isn't that Male's red eyebrow just Spectacular?! :D





While I was at the feeders in The Ramble in Central Park another birder/photographer spotted a pair of Cedar Waxwings. I thank that birder for pointing them out to me and I wish I could remember the birder's name. The CWs were so high up that I was only able to get this poor quality photo of them.



However, these birds are just TOO BEAUTIFUL for me to only put up that one bad picture of them so I am also posting up pictures I have taken of them in the past. They really are BEAUTIFUL Birds.





This picture that I took, also a while back, at Tanner's Spring is of a Juvenile Cedar Waxwing.



Also last week Central Park saw the first butterflies of the season. This picture is of a Mourning Cloak Butterfly and they are usually the first butterfly to appear in Spring. I took the picture about 10 days ago at the feeders in The Ramble.



All of the bird pictures above were taken at Central Park, but CP has far more than just birds, butterflies, and trees. As I was entering The Ramble on the east side, right by The Boathouse, I saw Marcia Gay Harden enjoying some ice cream with her son, Hudson. Just a typical day in Manhattan. Walk down the street and see a celebrity.



At first I thought I might have been mistaken and that it wasn't her, but then I found this 2007 photo which makes me think that my photo is indeed of her and her son.




Now don't think Central Park was having all the fun. :) Spring is also showing "its colors" in Riverside Park. Flowers are blooming all over the place. :D I don't know the names of flowers, except for a few, so if you know what these are feel free to leave me a comment with their names. TIA. I have some books on flowers and trees, so hopefully I will find some time to teach myself the names.















Riverside Park was also teeming with dogs! :D LOVE DOGGIES!! One of my favorite doggies that I regularly run into is an albino Basset Hound named Paul Newman (so named because of his eyes.) He is the most ADORABLE and FRIENDLY dog!



Things were hopping at the 105th St. Dog Run!









And many CUTE doggies were out strolling with their owners.







I just LOVE this dog!!! Is it a Chow Chow? I don't know. I just know that to me it looks like what Aslan would look like if Aslan was transformed into a dog.

The dog ....



.... and Aslan.



Ball games also were staring up again, with both boys and girls playing softball/baseball. (I have no idea what is the difference between the two. Lol!)





A "lonely" toy caught my eye. :)



Finally, the kids of West 83rd St. knew what time of year it is! :D :D




Now on to the part that some are looking forward to the most. :D

Please click here for the SVU Pics.