Category: Animals

Mount Loretto Unique Area: A day at the beach made for everyone

Filed under: Animals, Environment, New York, Work

December 17, 2019

Typically you would think a day late in November would be too cold for the beach, but that wasn’t the case on a recent walk at Mount Loretto Unique Area. It was not that hot, but not that cold. You needed a jacket, but not gloves and hats.

The sun was bouncing off the water which was nearly flat, it was so calm.

“It’s a nice time of the year,” said Glenn Mazzola.

Joe Padalino was not thrilled to hear we were going to the beach.

“I didn’t want to get caught in the sand,” said Padalino who uses a wheelchair to get around.

But it was a different story when we traveled from the parking lot along the non-vehicular road to the coastal area of the state park. There were two paths to the beach to help people go places they couldn’t usually go.

“Now I feel good because I am actually on the beach,” said Padalino from the observation deck at the end of one of the paths. “It’s not something I get to do much.”

“It’s a good place to get lost in your mind,” he added.

What made it especially nice was Howie Fischer, an experienced birder, met us there. He had his telescope for getting a better look at the water fowl out in the bay which included brant, grebes, loons and ducks.

A black-and-white duck (bufflehead) was one some of us got a good look at. Fischer reported back that he saw or heard 30 species, and he helped us be aware of some of them even if we didn’t get a good look.

We started our visit to MLUA at the observation deck on the Mount Loretto Pond near the parking lot. This is a special place for Lifestyles because we were at the ribbon cutting for the accessible trail to the observation deck.

At the pond we saw geese, and a large blue-and-white bird (great blue heron) and a small blue-and-white bird (a kingfisher), both with serious beaks for fishing.

Take a look at our photos for more of what we saw and commentary on it.

Written collaboratively by Joseph Jones, Greg Mazzola, Dolores Palermo, Joseph Padalino, Steven Filoramo for Life-Wire News Service with Kathryn Carse.

Tags: ADA Compliant, Beach, MT Loretto, nature

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Battle Brewing Over New Plan To Reduce Invasive Swan Population On Long Island

Filed under: Animals, Environment, Important Stuff, New York

September 18, 2017

Posted with comment: So you would rather have your daughter traumatized, also shouldn’t feed birds breed dumbass.

CBS TV, September 13th, 2017

FULL TEXT:

NEW YORK (CBSNewYork) — There’s a new plan to reduce the mute swan population on Long Island.

Some say the non-lethal plan is a kinder solution, while others continue to mount a strong public opposition.

The quacking of ducks and swans in the ponds of Massapequa Preserve helps draw thousands of people daily, yet the state Department of Environmental Conservation considers the growing population of mute swans to be a destructive, invasive species imported centuries ago from Europe.

For years, the agency has proposed killing them off, arguing they eat up all the vegetation needed by other native species.

Without exception, though, everyone CBS2 spoke with was horrified at doing anything to harm the mute swans.

“I think they’re beautiful,” Massapequa resident Jean Stigliano said. “I think we should leave them alone, if there is any kind of problem then we should relocate them.”

The intense public opposition now has the state agency reversing course, saying it will instead pursue “non-lethal means,” such as coating swan eggs with corn oil so they don’t hatch, or destroying their nests.

Some locals say that’s equally cruel.

“The poor swans are still there, sitting on their eggs every day and then one day they’re all dead! How horrible, how horrible, you can’t do that,” Massapequa resident Joan Locascio said.

The state environmental department says it must also protect public safety, warning the elegant birds can become aggressive toward anyone feeding them.

That’s exactly what happened to Sean Hogan’s younger daughter.

“My daughter was feeding the swan, it came up and she had a little too much bread and it took a bite and grabbed her by her finger,” Hogan tells CBS2.

He says his daughter was not seriously harmed, arguing the same thing could happen with a family pet, and adds his family will keep feeding the swans and will oppose any attempt to remove them no matter which means are pursued.

The public will get a chance to have their say about the mute swans. A hearing on the agency’s latest plan is set for next Tuesday night in Hauppauge.

Tags: agressive, invasive species, Mute Swan

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Don’t Fear the Urban Coyote

Filed under: Animals, Environment, New York

April 29, 2015

NYC Lens, April 29th, 2015

FULL TEXT:

Coyotes are popping up across the city–on a roof, behind a bush and sitting doe-eyed in a crate after being captured by the New York City Police Department. Their presence might seem unusual to city residents, but the coyotes are just a local chapter of a country-wide trend of urban coyotes.

In the past decade, as human development encroaches on the natural habitat of coyotes, many of the animals have moved into urban areas. Another factor: Their natural predator, the gray wolf, has become an endangered species in the last three years, allowing the coyote population to expand its borders. Scientists call this natural range expansion.

“We have to accept the fact that natural range expansion is part of the ecology of wildlife globally,” Camilla Fox, founder and executive director of Project Coyote, said. “Natural range expansion is exactly what’s happening, and some of this is in response to alteration of habitat.”

Project Coyote is a California-based organization that seeks to destigmatize coyotes. The group promotes peaceful coexistence with coyotes through conversations with wildlife scientists, ranchers, educators and community leaders. The organization provides several resources to help the public better understand and interact with coyotes.

In New York state alone, there are 14,500 breeding pairs of coyotes. According to the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation, coyotes began moving into the state in the 1930s. Instead of living in packs, like some of their West coast relatives, eastern coyotes tend to live in pairs. All coyotes mate for life.

One common misconception Project Coyote hopes to dispel is that coyotes are dangerous.

“Your chances of being bitten or attacked by a coyote are incredibly low,” she said.

Though there is not a centralized way to keep track of coyote attacks, Fox said that anecdotally, there are relatively few coyote attacks on humans compared to dog bites, which average about 1,000 per day.

Urban coyotes have inspired creative initiatives like the Urban Coyote Project, a collaboration between three journalists–Jaymi Heimbuch, Morgan Heim and Karine Aigner–with an affinity for canines. Each based in a different city, the journalists learn the habits of local urban coyotes and photograph them, posting photo galleries along with information from wildlife scientists to help spread correct information about coyotes.

“When we understand more, we can coexist easier and fear less,” Heimbuch, founder of the project, said.

Heimbuch and her colleagues were inspired by how adaptive and cunning species is. She hopes to expand their project to include both a film and a book.

The New York City Department of Parks and Recreation recommends several tips for “coexisting with coyotes” based on Project Coyote’s guidelines. Residents are encouraged not to feed the animals so they do not become accustomed to humans, safely store food and garbage in animal-proof receptacles, keep dogs leashed while outside, keep cats indoors, and scare off coyotes if a coyote approaches you in a park or a neighborhood.

Project Coyote also recommends “hazing” the coyotes by making yourself appear large and loud by shouting, waving your arms and flashing lights until the coyote retreats. If residents come across a coyote who is not responding to this or if someone is bitten or hurt, call 9-1-1.

The final recommendation from the New York City Department of Parks and Recreation is to appreciate the animals from a distance.

“They have shown to be incredibly resilient and able to coexist with us and tolerate human disturbance,” Fox said. “We haven’t shown that kind of tolerance for the species.”

There are more people bitten by dogs than coyotes. Don’t you think this might be because dogs live with people and coyotes don’t?

Tags: Bites, Coyotes, New York, New York City, NYC, Wild animals

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Bye bye Butterscotch

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Filed under: Animals, Emotions, Family N Friends, Important Stuff, Personal not private

July 18, 2013

Just a quick post to remember the day, it was sudden and I was here, he was there so I didn’t get to say good-bye, something that matters only to me.

Tags: Butterscotch, Cancer, Pets

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My weekend

Filed under: Animals, Family N Friends, Vacation

February 20, 2013

The old man, he wants my ice cream! I was trying to fend him off with my iPhone.

My hockey jersey, now covered with cat hair. But I washed it so it is clean cat hair.

Tags: Buffalo Sabres, Butterscotch, Cat hair, Pets

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I’m not really that fond of animals

Filed under: Animals, Family N Friends

January 11, 2013

This is Jack with his sweater I knitted for him. I never knit for other people. I don’t like animals. **whistles**

Isn’t he the cutest thing!

Tags: Crafts, Knitting, Pets

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Old dogs

Filed under: Animals, Family N Friends, Uncategorized — 2 Comments

February 20, 2012

One day the old German Shepherd starts chasing rabbits and before long, discovers that he’s lost. Wandering about, he notices a panther heading rapidly in his direction with the intention of having lunch.

The old German Shepherd thinks, ‘Oh, oh! I’m in deep doo-doo now!’ Noticing some bones on the ground close by, he immediately settles down to chew on the bones with his back to the approaching cat. Just as the panther is about to leap, the old German Shepherd exclaims loudly, ‘Boy, that was one delicious panther! I wonder, if there are any more around here?’

Hearing this, the young panther halts his attack in mid-strike, a look of terror comes over him and he slinks away into the trees. ‘Whew!’ says the panther, ‘That was close! That old German Shepherd nearly had me!’

Meanwhile, a squirrel who had been watching the whole scene from a nearby tree, figures he can put this knowledge to good use and trade it for protection from the panther. So, off he goes, but the old German Shepherd sees him heading after the panther with great speed, and figures that something must be up.

The squirrel soon catches up with the panther, spills the beans and strikes a deal for himself with the panther.

The young panther is furious at being made a fool of and says, ‘Here, squirrel, hop on my back and see what’s going to happen to that conniving canine!’

Now, the old German Shepherd sees the panther coming with the squirrel on his back and thinks, ‘What am I going to do now?’, but instead of running, the dog sits down with his back to his attackers, pretending he hasn’t seen them yet, and just when they get close enough to hear, the old German Shepherd says…

‘Where’s that squirrel? I sent him off an hour ago to bring me another panther!’

Moral of this story…

Don’t mess with the old dogs… Age and skill will always overcome youth and treachery! BS and brilliance only come with age and experience.

If you don’t send this to some ‘old’ friends right away,there will be fewer people laughing in the world.

Of course, I am in no way insinuating that any of you are old, some are just more ‘youthfully challenged’.

You did notice the size of the print, didn’t you?

LOL . . .

I really did Laugh Out Loud!!!

How about you???

Tags: E-Mails, Friendship, Joke

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Weekly Photo Challenge: Opportunity

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Filed under: Animals, Environment — 1 Comment

October 28, 2011

This little guy was taking advantage of my fire escape, so I took the opportunity to take his picture.

Tags: Birds, Challenge, Pictures, postaday2011

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Trying to catch up

Filed under: Animals, Manhattan

October 5, 2011

Today is my off day so I am trying to catch up. I have caught up with my Yankee blog, but that is easy since I am writing a post for every game and I just have to look up the games on MLB.com. This blog is my life, which right now is rather boring.

Earlier I was walking around my apartment and looked out the window, it looked like something was stuck to my fire escape. When I walked closer to my window I saw it was a little bird, a chickadee I think. I ran to get my camera, hoping he would still be there when I got back and I could get a picture. I got several pictures. He didn’t even fly away when I put my face up to the window and started talking to him, just hopped to the other side of the fire escape.

Now I have to go, I do have things to do, I plan on being back tomorrow to write more.

Tags: Apartment, Birds, Chickadee, Pictures, postaday2011

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Enormous black cat

Filed under: Animals, Weather

July 23, 2011

Last night there was an enormous black cat in my bathroom. She growled at me while I was getting ready for bed. She scared me.

Stitch had this friend Bane. It was too hot for him to stay in his apartment so Stitch brought him here, of course he brought his cat Jaden with him. From the way Stitch talked about her, I thought Jaden was a small cat, when Bane opened the case and this black behemoth jumped out, bigger them both our cats put together I was surprised. She ran down the stairs and went into my bathroom, apparently she decided that is her new home since she hissed at everyone who came in there.

Big hulking scary cat.

Tags: Heat, Pets, postaday2011

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