Norton Basin Migratory Bird Sanctuary

A juvenile Cedar waxwing (Bombycilla cedrorum) collided with one of the back windows today.The thud was undeniable and the little fellow died almost instantly. This was my first sighting of a Cedar waxwing in this area. When I looked it up on the internet, one of the comments was that Cedar waxwings are vulnerable to window collisions. The Audubon has some suggestions for the prevention of these collisions.

More on the subject later.

Today was a great day, RWA kids and teachers came out to do a beach cleanup event. They were joined by two people from Brooklyn and two people from Manhattan. A family from Beach 56 Street and one resident from Rockaway Park came out to help as well. We collected more than 25 bags of debris, a bicycle, a car wheel and a huge pile of garden refuge, and a pile of cement waste and chunks of tar-top.

We started to take down one of the three piles of buldozed junk.

The group circled the bay up to the sandspit, and took a little time out to study the fish and other fauna.

We concentrate on the good today. I could show pictures with all the garbage that is dumped,or not picked up, but instead pictures of Queen Ann's Lace, Mullein and Marsh Mallow. When we were done the garbage had been rebagged, and all looked pristine again.

Words fail me...

There is no limit to the shame of humanity. As I walked by today to make a photo of the bags that Doris had gathered on Saturday, November 7, I noticed a new fence across the street, and a big dump of cement, sand and the kind of gravel that is used to install fence-posts. Coincidence? i think not!