Tag Archives: conservation

Hawks in the Bronx

Couple of years ago, I was walking to work on a sunny morning day. The busy streets of the Bronx filled my ears with the sounds of accelerating cars, rushing pedestrians, and elevated subway passing overhead. Typical morning commute commotion. Out of nowhere, with a lighting speed, a big raptor fell from the sky. InContinue reading “Hawks in the Bronx”

Chasing the waves

Sanderling (Calidris alba). Sanderlings are master predictors of the motions of the Ocean’s waves. As the waves go back and forth, the sanderlings find a perfect moment to begin their sprint run, dig some sand dwellers, and safely run away. For such a tiny body, they are master sprinters. Their beak is about the sizeContinue reading “Chasing the waves”

Fashionista gulls

After my third attempt to photograph piping plovers at the Far Rockaway’s ended up in a failure, I began to feel disappointed. To protect the plovers, a part of the beach was closed. I walked for hours with my long lens camera, only to learn that the plovers moved to the other side. I wonderedContinue reading “Fashionista gulls”

Mysterious crab

I walked confidently on the yellow sand, staring at the shells deposited on the beach by the powerful waves of the Atlantic Ocean. Movements of the water displaced tiny pieces of sand along the shore, exposing sand dwellers quickly snatched by the seashore birds.  As we were walking along the water, my sister screamed suddenly,Continue reading “Mysterious crab”

Preserving the unknown

One cannot miss what one does not know exists.  A book by Michelle Nijhuis, Beloved Beasts, Fighting for Life in the Age of Extinction, presents several classic examples of animal species severely affected by human activities. Michelle describes animals which became symbols of conservation. Many such species are still with us, while some can onlyContinue reading “Preserving the unknown”

Ospreys at the Oyster Bay Wildlife Refuge

Ospreys, Pandion haliaetus, are some of the bigger birds migrating to Long Island during their breeding season. In 1960s, ospreys were listed as endangered. One of the many victims of the extensive use of DDT (dichloro-diphenyl-trichloroethane), one of the first synthetic insecticides used in agriculture. DDT directly did not kill most birds, however it ledContinue reading “Ospreys at the Oyster Bay Wildlife Refuge”