Hudson River Birder Kayaking Hudson River

Marshy Path to Acre Farm

Identify this Wildflower!!!

Beefsteak Polypure

NATURE'S "HALF ACRE"

Below you will see (for July 11th, 2009) what I have been able to capture with the "micro" part of my neat Canon Digital camera. There was a wonderful film made in the 50ties by the Disney corporation I think, which was called, "Nature's Half Acre". Because it showed the small bugs, insects, plants, aquatic as well as land, that are truly a wonderful part of God's creation. I don't think there is any harder thing to photograph than a small wind blown wildflower. But it's a challenge for me. The colors do not always turn out the way "I saw it or remembere it", but I hope you can appreciate them....
SOMETHING ABOUT SEIDO KARATE: This weekend of July 9-12 we have 90 members of the Seido Karate people. The founder of the movement whose name is, Tadashi Nakamura , restored the contemplative and virtuous dimensions of karate. The values of respect, cooperation, service and team work as well as the values of meditation, silence, discipline and a dignified life are so very apparent in the Master and the participants. And they had our many groves, mini forests, green lawns and meadows to both meditate, practice and enjoy this land of THE HUDSON RIVER BIRDER.

Seido Karate Weekend at The Mount

Dragonfly on Acre Pond

White Baneberry on Pell Farm--Esopus

Common Fiber Vase Fungus near River

Unidentified Acre Pond Wildflower at Esopus

Plants, Bugs and Wildflowers

I have not the photography equipment to do birds. But my little Canon Digital Camera is simply "great" for nature scenes, micro shots of butterflies, bugs and wildflower. I can't change the name of my blog. But it "could" be named from now on either: Hudson River Bugger or 2. Hudson River Wildflowerer or 3. Hudson River Tree Guy.

The fact is that I have committed myself to do two Saturday days of reflection. The first is called Christ and the Planet. I will give it here on Satuday Sept 26 from 10am till 3pm. The other is called Fall Migration and Christ. That will be on Satuday, Oct. 24th, also from 10am till 3pm. Let me give you an idea of where this came from. When I was in the Bronx my Thursday "free- day" was inevitably spent birding or just relaxing in the natural wonder that is Central Park. So when I was assigned up here at The Mount in Esopus, NY some of my friends joked, "They've sent you upstate to birdwatch!" Well yes and no! I have always loved our place at the Mount. It is, as I say above a "beautiful piece of wildlife on the Hudson River". But my joy, my "mission" as a missionary priest is to "try and show how all in the world reflects...or "should reflect" God's wonder, goodness, truth, justice and compassion. So.....with these two workshops I hope to put together...my love of nature and my mission to help make the human family precisely that..."a family". There are people who have come to or have been taught to "hate religion". Sometimes this hatred comes from the fact that people have sometimes been taught that in order to love God and be a good person one has to hate or despise themselves and either "ignore the rest of creation" or worse still, exploit it and literally "choke it to death" I DON'T BELIEVE THAT. As a young boy in Pittsburgh PA. one of my joys was finding and enjoying the many parks we had in that city. I lived in the city, but I never was a "city boy". So there is a bit of the personal history and the dream of this HUDSON RIVER BIRDER.

Bee on a Leaf at Pell Farm

Very Old Purple Beach on Pell Farm

INDIAN BURIAL MOUND

ALPHIES, A LAB THAT LOVES TO CHEW

The other day the tethered objective lense caps fell off my Pentax DCF-SP 10X43 binoculars. You see there is a center screw that keeps the two caps snug to the binoculars...But....if the screw comes loose!!! Fortunately we have Alphie a year old Black Lab that finds most things that get lost on our grounds. Well, yes she "finds things". But she also loves to "chew them". I was hoping that the former would happen without the "latter". But I had no luck. There the lens caps were in Alphie's "Lost and Chewed" section of our front lawn. I had a bit of luck. Pentax will send me new ones, including the screw....FOR FREE. Now there's a first!

Our property has a small area below where the former Robert Livingston Pell mansion used to be that contains indian artefacts. It may just have been an indian burial site. Some have noticed unusual raised sections that might have been "burial mounds". I haven't nailed down the site. When I do I will have some pictures. (The post before this which is an actual Indian Burial Mound shows me that I must "might have been walking upon the mound without seeing it". Remember when Jimmie Durante, as he is dying in the movie Mad, Mad, World tells them all to "Love under the "BIG W"???

HUDSON RIVER SUMMER

I was in Ireland from the 30th of June until June 15th. I haven't posted anything since then. The Hudson River here at Esopus is as sultry and humid as it can be. While we had sunny and bright days in Ireland rain was pouring down on the Hudson River Valley. While I was gone one or maybe two eagles fledged. I have only seen the one even way back in May when other said they saw two of them. These days I have seen just one of the scraggly little eaglets sitting "below his/or her birthplace". The Royal European Starling Airforce" as I like to call these huge swarms o light brown summer-coated birds has been eating whatever they find on our lawns. If I had to say what the order of most numerous birds here in Esopus are (AFTER the Starlings...of course!!!) I would say 2. Chipping Sparrows 3. Red Winged Blackbirds 3. Eastern Bluebirds 4. Eastern Wood Pewees 5. Phoebes 6. American Robins 7. Barn and Tree Swallows 8. American Crows and Fish Crows 9. House Finches 10.Northern Mockingbirds 11. House or Winter Wrens



As I go on I have some "doubts". I think the Mockingbirds and House Finches should be further up the line. I have just begun to see some Goldfinch.

In Ireland there is a beautiful Goldfinch that has at least five colors: white, tan, yellow, black and red. You can judge for yourself. The only place I saw them there was on the road from Mountcharls, Co. Donegal to Glencough which is a, as they say, townsland of Mountcharles. Here is one. It is to the upper left.

The "Birder's Shadow" and the "Shadow of Ireland's Past"--Glencough,Mountchalres-Co. Donegal

A Wonderful World of Irish Birds and Trees

These days in Ireland have been wonderful. At Glencough near Mountcharles-Co. Donegal is the place where our maternal grandfather, John McDermott, was born and raised before going to America to provide a place for us. At his grand nephew's house, Patsy McDermott, besides seeing the ivy covered remains of the family barn and home, I saw what I think were Chiff Chaffs or Willow Warblers. I also saw the most beautiful Irish Goldfinches which have a red ring on their head besides the yellow and white wing patches. The most frequent birds here are: magpies, Black Thrush, Chaffinches, European Robin, Rooks, Jackdaws, Goldcrests, Collared Doves (which some people mistake for Cuckooes because they "sound" like a cuckoo), the Swallow (which is actually what we call "Barn Swallow" elsewhere), Tree Swallow, which are quite numerous....

The smell of Ireland is like a farm. I imagine this is because of the constant dampness. I found that the turf grows only one millemeter a year and so it is not a source of heat as it was many years ago. Many people have either knocked down their ancient homes or even sold the stones to developers because of their dire economic need. The developers have then created "stylized Irish cottages" which have all the modern comforts and conveniences that the old homes, of course, never had. The most wonderful thing about Ireland is its welcoming, loving and generous spirit. While we were in Mountcharles our cousin Eileen got all the Porters, Connollys, Martins, McDermotts.....together for a wonderful party with good food, Guinness, song and laughter. While we were there the Fine Gael party had a victory parade which passed right in front of our house. The picture here is of Martha Brennan, 103 years young enjoying the parade from her window above Brennan's Supermarket.--- IN THE PICTURE I HAVE LABELLED "MY GRANDFATHER'S HARE" THERE IS ACTUALLY A HUGE RABBIT (HARE) OUT IN THE FIELD....SEE IF YOU CAN PICK HIM OR HER OUT. HE OR SHE WOULD NOT ALLOW ME ANY CLOSER..

The "Hudson River Birder's brother John at "The Slieve Cliffs"--Killybegs-Sligo-Ireland

Sheep on Cliffs of Slieve League near Killybegs-Co. Donegal

My brother Dan and cousin Philomena's old Family Home in Dromore--Mountcharles-Co. Donegal

My Grandfather's Hare in Mouncharles-Co. Donegal

Wildlife on Connemara Preserve and Aran Islands

The past few posts have been more "travelogue" than nature posts. Today I have a beautiful picture of the sandy but rough beaches on the coast of Ireland between Galway and the Irish speaking town of Spittel. I also have an interesting picture of a shepherd that I met on the so called "Ring of Kerry" last week. He could direct his two Border Collies to round up sheep far up into the hills. For this he had a whistle with a special sound that identified each of the two dogs and he also had specific whistle signals that would tell each dog things like, "Go left!" "Go right!"..."Sit down!"...."Crouch and menace the sheep!"...."Move up!"..."Move down!"...."Stop!"...."Go!.... And so on. The shepherd could also communicate with each dog with voice commands. And, though he did not say it specifically, I am sure that there were movements of his "shepherd's staff" that also communicated things to the sheep. Thank you for your patience. I will not use my blog for travelogue...But the fact is, even though I don't have photos I have seen many English birds. I am most impressed with the large menancing Hooded Crows and also with the big grey black Jackdaws that seem to have a good relationship with the sheep. They follow them everywhere. The European Robin has become my special friend. The Great Tit and the Blue and Coal Tit are very much like our American Chickadees. But they don't sound like them, nor do they act like chickadees.
My big challenge has been to try and figure out if the English Song Sparrow, which looks "a bit" like our American one, but is larger...if it is a mimic as I suspect. It seems to have about 10 or eleven calls...maybe more. The magpies are a treat. They are so big and clumsy. There are many swallows that seem like our Barn Swallows, because they have the long forked tails. But the large majority of swallows here in the south of Ireland seem like American Tree swallows.

Seals on Inishmore--Aran Islands--Ireland

Rough Sandy Shore of Connemara Coast--Ireland

Circle of Kerry Shepherd

Ruins of 1291 Church/ Cemetery of Deely Ancestors

Tom, John and Dan Deely in front of Castleton Conyers Deely Grave Site

Ruins of Castleton Conyers Cemetery where Deely Ancestors are Buried

Tom, Dan with Michael Deely

Two Jackdaws near Blarney--Ireland in Wildlife Preserve

The Ring of Kerry near Killarney-Ireland

The "Birder" with his Brothers at the Lakes of Killarney

THIS "BIRDER" ON THE "RING OF KERRY"

Today my brothers and I took a bus trip around the famous "Ring of Kerry" which begins in Killarney here in the South of Ireland . The photos that I have placed today are: 1. a Jackdaw that I saw in a Wildlife Preserve near the Blarney Castle. 2. a shot of the ocean from the Ring of Kerry. And finally, 3. My two brothers: John and Dan with me in front of one of the famous Lakes of Killarney.

Hudson River Birder in Limerick-Ireland

After a six and a half night flight to Shannon Airport, my brothers John and Dan drove to our historic "Mission Parish" of St. Alphonsus in downtown Limerick. My Redemptorist "confreres" greeted us with great joy, humor and food. Then we walked the banks of the Shannon in Limerick. Later I saw "some" Irish birds: their Great Tit, their crow, swallows and, some others I have not "nailed down" yet. I have a picture of some of the great missionary Redemptorists' graves in our "rose lined" small cementery. The founder of Limerick was a missionary who, in the 1860 was named Jerome Buggenoms. Buggenoms, before he came to Ireland from the Caribbean to build this parish, had, at one time been the only representative of the Holy Father (The Pope) in all the Caribbean. His correspondence is a most valuable source of events from the 1860ties, most especially in what was then the Island of Hispaniola, now the Dominican Republic.

Cemetery with Deceased Irish Redemptorist Missionaries

Quaint Old Residence in Limerick

Our Redemptorist Monastery in Limerick

My Two Brothers at the Shannon River-Limerick

WE GO TO OUR GRANDPARENTS' HOME IN IRELAND

For the next two weeks this Hudson River Birder, with my brothers John and Dan, will visit Ireland. The main part of the trip will be to visit the family of our maternal grandfather in Mountcharles, Glencough, Co. Donegal in Ireland. In 1991, when I had celebrated the previous year my first 25 years as a Redemptorist priest, I went to visit our Irish relatives. What I most remember on the "natural/spiritual level" was a very spontaneous, free, silly moment in Co. Galway. It was, as it mostly is there in Ireland, a cold, cloudy, windy day. I has asked my cousins to stop by a pasture that was full of an enormous flock of hugely wooly sheep. I then proceeded to "run after the sheep". I am sure that next week my cousin Eileen will delight the family recalling that moment when...."Father Tom oft and ran with the sheep".
Back at Esopus there are no sheep. We just have groundhogs, possums, coyotes, wild turkeys, deer, our new family of American Bald Eagles, and the many birds that are our visitors each spring and our year round residents.
----I am trying to put together a new retreat at The Mount. I am thinking of calling it: "Running with the Sheep--Strengthening our Bond with the Natural World".
I truly, truly believe that most of God's important messages and blessings are right here before us in the Natural World. The other day I was reading Rusty Johnson's most interesting book called "Twilight of the Natural World". Now I, like many aging persons, have memory problems. And so his data on the Clarke's Nutcracker really got my attention. The Clarke's Nutcracker is an inhabitant of the southwest. It feeds on pine cones which it gathers and buries in various spots so as to find them and enjoy them in winter time. This bird has the mental capacity to remember up to 20,000 distinct hiding places!!! I thought, Might not the secret of reducing demential or at least increasing our power of recall be found in the brain chemistry and structure of this humble little bird.
Anyway, during the next few weeks I will have two or three pictures of beautiful places and maybe animals in Ireland. Check in!

KAYAKING THE HUDSON RIVER

As you may or may not know the Hudson River is what is known as a "tidal estuary". It is like a tongue of the sea that stretches up towards Albany as the tide rises. Then it retracts towards New York City as the tide lowers. The other day I went kayaking for the first time ever. I went with Mike Sweeney who is on our Mount Retreat Team, is our Music Minister and is a fine young man and musician. I was surprised how easy it was for me, especially as last Monday (May 18th) was quite cold and windy. But the tide was falling from from Kingston towards Hyde Park (right across from The Mount), and so we went "against it" up towards the Esopus Meadows Lighthouse. That way it would be "smooth sailing" to come back to our dock. Our biggest treat was seeing an eagle not 50 feet from us, just on the shore. It ignored us like we were "just another part of the scenery". Unfortunately I had not brought my digital camera. Next time I will. I will keep it in a tupperware container. This way it won't get wet. And, if it falls out of the kayak it will float. It's a good thing to bring one's cellphone also placed carefully in another tupperware container.
Our grounds are literally "bursting" with Red Wing Blackbirds, Northern Mockingbirds, Chipping Sparrows, House Finches, Song Sparrows, House or Winter Wrens along with the Carolina Wrens, Baltimore Orioles, Brown Headed Cowbirds (with their "ice cube" clunking sound), . I wrote something a while back on Bird Listening. How true this is. The "invisible but audible birds" are often what I most identify: Common Yellowthroats, Hooded Warblers, Eastern Towhees, Red Eyed Vireos.... Most disappointing of all for me are the fact that I "hear but have yet to see this year my good friends the Greated Crested Flycatchers. Years ago at Huntington State Park south of Myrtle Beach a Great Crested Flycatcher was my constant companion as I wandered through that truly great birding spot. It is part of what is Brookgreen Gardens founded by the great millionaire Arthur Huntington and his artist, sculptress wife Ana Hyatt..

TRIP TO AWOSTING FALLS AT MOHONK PRESERVE

On Sunday, May 17th I spent five hours walking from the Mohonk Preserve Visitors' Center, up the East Connector Path to the Trapps Trail. It was very steep. On the East Trapps which is the great rock climbing spot on the Preserve there were many, mostly young, rock climbers. I had a real good feeling about youth as I saw them enjoying the challenge that rock climbing is. (For me it is a "road not travelled". In "another lifetime...maybe!!) The day was wonderful. Streams of spring rain poured over one of the climing areas eliminating it for the day. Between two sections called "Bitchy Virgin" and "Awolding" the ascents have been discontinued because of Peregrin Falcon nesting. I could "hear" the falcons but it was hard to see. There were the fresh reddish color of recently fallen rock in those sections....and "added" reason for calling off climbing there. What a great spring day. I "heard" many Wood Thrushes, Red-Eyed Vireos ("Here I am...There Your Are")..But THEY could probably see ME. But I could not see...THEM.
Awosting Falls with the strong flowing river which is the Awosting River I presume and forms a lake below was powerfully falling. It was a true "thunderous" roar which I much enjoyed. I hope you enjoy some of my pictures.

AWOSTING FALLS AT MOHONK PRESERVE

ROCKS OF THE MOHONK SHAWANGUNKS

MOHONK PRESERVE--TABLE AND PINE ROCK

MOHONK PRESERVE--ROAD TO AWOSTING FALLS

MOUNT LOOKING "HUDSON RIVER SOUTH"

MOUNT LOOKING HUDSON NORTH

THE MOUNT LOOKING ACROSS THE HUDSON

HUDSON RIVER CLOUDY SUNRISE

IN THE HEIGHT OF SPRING

I wrote before that I am more of a "Bird Listener" than "watcher". It is true. If one has half decent hearing, as I do, they can hear, as I did yesterday invisible Easter Towhees, House Wrens, Baltimore Orioles, Tufted Titmouses, Carolina Wrens, Common Yellowthroats. The birds that I actually "see" here at the Mount are: Bald Eagles, Red-Winged Blackbirds, Blue Jays, Chipping and Song Sparrows, Mourning Doves, Rusty Blackbirds, Carolina Wrens, Northern Mockingbirds... There are hardly any Nuthatches and Chickakees around. Oh yes, the Swifts, Tree and Barn Swallows are back. One thing that has fascinated me are the very varied Northern Cardinal calls an songs. I have gotten used to the great variety of Robin song. But I am now "getting the hang" of what I would call "Cardinalish song". If you go to the sounds easilly obtainable on the Internet (especially the Cornell Site to which there is a link at your bottom LEFT) you will find a good "sample" of bird songs and calls. But there is an infinite variety. (The truth seems to be that birds are learning different ways of expressing themselves just like us human beings). At least that is the way I see it. Right above you have a picture of a beautiful cloud-filled Hudson River sunrise. And here a "Mom Eagle" caring for her two invisible eagletts.

FERRY FEEDING THE LAUGHING GULLS AT OCRACOKE ISLAND

WARBLER FOOD (POKEWEED) AT PEA ISLAND

ELIZABETHAN GARDEN--MANTEO, NC

HUDSON RIVER "BIRD LISTENER"

I have been in Kitty Hawk/ Cape Hatteras and Ocracoke Island the last week. Spring Migration is very strong here. There is a Kitty Hawk Woods Trail that goes up The Woods Road and breaks across Twifford Road crossing W. Kitty Hawk Road and heading towards Kitty Hawk Landing. Here there are many small inlets that are part of the waterways flowing out of Currituck Sound where the huge bridge crosses into Kitty Hawk.

The reason I title this blog BIRD LISTENING is that I have heard so many birds: Hooded Warblers, at least one Kentuck Warbler, hundreds of Carolina Wrens, Great Crested Flycatchers, Eastern Towhees, Ovenbirds, House Finches, Pilated Woodpeckers, Flickers, ....etc. But the ones I constantly see are the Boat Tailed and Common Grackels, Robins, Red-Winged Blackbirds. (Down at Pea Island Wildlife Refuge I saw a Blackburnian Warbler that is quite rare to see in that spot. I also saw a Blue Bunting skipping along the beach there. Bird Listening is the way to go. How frustrated I would be if I actually had to see the bird I am identifying.

THE TREE SWALLOWS AND TOWHEES ARE BACK

It is GOOD FRIDAY. And indeed a good Friday it is, as Jewish people have celebrated Passover and Christians are in the midst of celebrating Christ's Paschal Mystery....

SPRING....is a Mystery of Life. The Tree Swallows, Towhees, Chipping and Song Sparrows, Phoebees, Robins galore, Bluebirds galore, nestings Eagles, Red Winged Blackbirds "screaming up a storm" this morning as well as the White Breasted Nuthatches, Chickadees and Tufted Titmouses that have "stayed with us". Today was really the first time this spring I've "heard" (FIRST), then "seen" the Chipping Sparrows. The Song Sparrows are really not singing that much. (I guess they have "nesting work" to do first!)

I have seen Herons which I am "pretty sure" are Great Blues on two of our ponds. What gracious flight they have!

HAPPY EASTER ALL!

YES, I THINK THAT WILLOWS....REALLY WEEP

I think that Weeping Willows really weep. I am serious. Today, a misty, foggy day here at Esopus I walked over to the former Pell Farm. There is a beautiful Willow there. It was the "greenest thing around". And, as I looked closely at the long greening branches reaching almost to the ground, I could see that indeed it is true. "They were really weeping!" At least that is the effect that the small, clinging rain drops gave me to imagine. They were like "God's own glad spring tears" that give life, not, of course, just to Weeping Willows, but to the Crocus, the Forsythia and other "early spring bloomers".

And I thought, For whom and for what are they weeping? The answer would have rather been, For whom and for what are the willows NOT weeping" this spring. Many things: wars, injustices, hatreds, oppressions came to mind. But, being a Hudson River Birder as I am and a former Central Park Birder as I was, I said a silent prayer for ALL my birding friends in Central Park. Some of them don't agree with everything the others do and say. They ALL love the park, the birds, the owls, the hawks, the herons and the now arriving warblers. But some of them don't agree with feeding birds; others do. Some don't think that the owls or even the nesting birds should be "called" or even "searche for" after hours....

Well, I just hope that, as each day goes by, we give Willows and everyone else....."less reasons to weep"
Another PASSOVER approaches. Another EASTER approaches. Let's have More Alleluyas and Shaloms and ....less weeping.

BUDDING WEEPING WILLOWS