Tuesday, April 1, 2014

Drama in the Sky

This afternoon, I hauled my carcass to Tibbett's Brook Park for what passes for fresh air in the megalopolis and some sunshine (living at night isn't helping my complexion). In the course of rambling around the pond, I saw (gasp!) an osprey flying overhead:




I noticed something trailing from the bird's legs, which it was attempting to dislodge with a complicated set of aerial maneuvers. Thankfully, the bird was able to dislodge the thing, which turned out to be (yeah, you probably guessed it) a plastic bag:




The damn thing was too far from the shore to fish out of the pond. Thankfully, NYC, our big neighbor to the south, seems to be moving quickly toward forcing stores to charge ten cents per plastic bag, to reduce this waste that will outlive our nation (the Atlantic has its own floating garbage gyre now).

On a happy note, there is at least one osprey in Tibbett's Brook Park. At the mothership, the subject of DDT came up- DDT use led to severe declines in osprey populations. Seeing an osprey today was a happy coincidence.

Sadly, I missed the one shot which would have been best for this post. After its aerobatics to dislodge the plastic bag, the bird took a plunge into the water and emerged carrying what appeared to be a "liberated" goldfish (judging by the color) in its talons. Hopefully, the osprey will establish residency in the park... if that happens, I'll have to apologize to the wood ducks for not considering them my Tibbett's favorites anymore.

5 comments:

  1. It's a dime a bag (paper AND plastic) around these parts. Took some getting used to, but now I just keep a bunch of old bags in the car and stuff 'em in my pocktses when I want to buy some items...

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  2. I used to see Ospreys on nesting platforms on the North shore of Lon Guyland all the time.

    *sniff*

    Memories...
    ~

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  3. No plastic, only paper & I think it's just a nickel a bag in these parts. (I ain't paid once.) No plastic means the once-lost art of bagging is making a comeback.

    thunder needs to live closer to an ocean, like all the kool kidz.

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  4. Nope, in my constant pursuit of the truth I see that paper bags are a dime in the City of L.A. as well.

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  5. Up here in the socialist utopia of Oregon, plastic bags are banned completely (in my town anyway -- I think Portland too), and you have to pay a nickel for paper. You quickly get used to bringing reusable bags (or ponying up the nickels).

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