Tag: New York City

Tale of Two Nests

A few decades ago there was only one nesting pair of eagles in the New York. Today there are close to 500. Environmental policies banning DDT enabled this increase.

This first nest is along a major commuting highway that takes many drivers to New York City. They allowed us in to work for a little while on one day so I stopped briefly on my return. These first pictures are taken from the shoulder of the highway.

When the leaves are off the trees this nest is viewable as you are traveling south on the highway. It is on land that juts out into a lake. Since one parent seems to linger a lot in the nest I assume there may be a young one.
One parent briefly joined the other on a nearby tree.
It is the other one’s turn to sit in the nest.

This second nest is next to the Hudson River south of me. If you are lucky as I was today you will catch one of the eagles on a tree near the hiking trail in the woods as I did. The nest is too far away and more protected for some reason than the other nests are that are in parklands.

This pair’s nest is a few miles south of me next tot the Hudson River. You can not get near the nest, but I was able to see them perched on a tree together briefly near a hiking trail. They did not leave the nest unattended for long, so I assume this nest may have young ones as well.
This one was vocal.

It is good to see the population thriving in recent years. The Hudson River seems to draw them to build their nests. If the weather is nice next weekend I hope to see another local nest I have heard about. Stay safe and stay healthy.

A Lake Eagle

Do you like finding new places to watch wildlife? I found another eagle nest recently. It is on a lake in New York north of New York City. It is close to a highway, a major commuting route for those traveling by car into New York City. I am trying to figure out a way to get closer to the nest. It is on a peninsula that juts out into the lake. These two pictures are taken from the highway quite a distance away without a tripod. I also cropped the photos quite a bit. Hopefully in the future I can get closer.

This seems to be this eagle’s favorite tree to perch on near the nest.
He could be eyeing the ducks swimming below the tree or possible a fish in the lake.

I like discovering new places to watch eagles. What is your favorite spot to view wildlife or nature?

NYC Murals Lower Manhattan and NoHo Area

“Street art is nothing else but urban poetry that catches someone’s eye.” Christian Guemy C215

These if I remember correctly are all near each other in or close to NoHo.

This one appeared to be in a private park. I took the photo from a gap in the corner fencing. This was in or near NoHo.
This may have been just north of Chinatown.
This was in the NoHo neighborhood of Lafayette Street.
Two peas in a pod- part of the same wall in the NoHo area.
This one is not far from the Brooklyn Bridge. I spotted it on a hike over the bridge into Manhattan. This one is a phone photo. It is hard to get these without cars in them. Usually all parking spaces are full.

My personal favorite in this group is the one on top, although the one on the bottom is a close second. Which one catches your eye?

Advertising Murals

You can find some interesting murals on the walls of buildings in New York City, but did you know some of them involve advertising? Here are a couple of advertising murals I found in Manhattan.

This one is advertising Canada Goose, which makes jackets. If I remember correctly, it is north of China Town.
This one advertises Gucci. It is in or near the NoHo neighborhood. NoHo stands for North of Houston Street. Incidentally, Houston Street is pronounced How-stun in NYC. This was viewable from Lafayette Street.

It is always fun to find new murals, even ones that advertise products. I find these a lot more interesting than bill boards. What do you think?

Bryant Park in Winter

Where can you skate for free in NYC if you bring your own skates? What rink has a holiday market around it? Which rink has several food choices close by? Bryant Park in Manhattan has all of these.

Bryant Park borders 42nd Street and 41st Street behind the main branch of the NYC Public Library. It is about two blocks from Grand Central Station. Between Thanksgiving and the beginning of January the park also hosts a Holiday Market. There are a booths outside carrying a variety of items from clothing to food and gifts.

Yes, if you bring your own skates it is free. They have a changing area. Skating starts early in the morning. There is food available in the lodge, an indoor area near the rink. There is also a Whole Foods across one of the streets it borders and other restaurants and shopping nearby. There are also permanent food kiosks in the park.

Bryant Park- behind the fountain is the ice skating rink. The park is behind the main branch if the NY Public Library. You can see some of the vendor booths for the Holiday Market on the left.
The fountain in the park
The Zamboni smoothing the ice on the rink. The rink clears for about 15 minutes when it is time to resurface the ice.

It is a rink with some nice views of Midtown Manhattan. It does not get the crowds that the rink at Rockefeller Center gets. I recommend this rink over the others because of that and the close proximity to food and shopping.

One of the permanent food kiosks at the park.

Whether you ice skate or not, it is worth visiting Bryant Park in winter. Watch the action or catch a bite to eat and enjoy the scenery of Midtown Manhattan.

People of New York- Holiday Spirit

The residents of New York get the reputation of being rude. Are they all Grinches at Christmas time? I saw plenty of locals in the holiday spirit.

This couple sells Christmas trees on 8th Avenue. They are from London, England, but now call New York home.
This is part of their stand on 8th Avenue.
This is the doorman at the Playwright Tavern- a pub on 49th Street. They have a great vegetable curry. He is a very friendly chap. I had a nice conversation with him and plan to return. Incidentally this pub has four TVs playing different games. If you are visiting NY and want to catch your game, this may be the right spot.
This fellow is an actor on a tour bus. The tour is called The Ride. It is an interactive tour.
This gentlemen I caught near Rockefeller Center. He was full of holiday cheer. He has lived in Manhattan most of his life.

Sometimes New Yorkers get a bad wrap. Manhattan is one of the best places to get some holiday spirit and the locals contribute to that.

Broadway Christmas

Are you in the holiday spirit? Do you want to know where to look for holiday or winter sites in New York City? They are easy to find in the tourist areas such as Broadway.

This year they have three snow globes representing Broadway shows on Broadway. I could only get two of them without people in front.

The Lion King

Life is like a snow globe. Its at its prettiest when it has been turned upside down.- Author unknown

The snow globes of Broadway are just one of the many Christmas/winter sites to view in New York.

Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade 2019

Who doesn’t love a parade? In New York City there are some big ones. This includes the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade.

This parade takes place in New York every year. It is run by Macy’s. A local employee told me they are asked if they want to volunteer for the parade. It sounds like some hold the ropes for the floats. This year the floats had to be close to the ground due to the high wind gusts.

If you want a close up view, get there early in the morning. I was there by 8:30 and was in the sixth row with some tall people in front of me. Some people could not take the cold and left giving me a front row standing location for the last half hour or so. It gets packed in though. I do not recommend trying to get a location around Columbus Circle or north. I also would not recommend getting a location close to Macy’s.

Paw Patrol
Snoopy
Power Ranger
It appeared Ronald McDonald may have had a mishap. He appeared to have a rip on his leg and it was deflating.
Diary of a Wimpy Kid
Green Eggs and Ham
Grinch
A Catalina Foothills band from Tucson, Arizona
Human singing ornaments
The parade ends with the arrival of Santa.

If you are in New York for Thanksgiving go down and watch the parade. Kids will love it and also kids at heart.

Viewing the Macy’s Floats

Do you plan to visit New York around Thanksgiving? Do you want to see the floats up close before the Macy’s parade? There is an opportunity to do that.

In the afternoon and evening on the Wednesday prior to Thanksgiving you can go to between Central Park West and Columbus Avenue between 74th and 82nd street and see the floats blown up and waiting to be used. The actual streets the balloons are on are around the Museum of Natural History. This year the winds are supposed to be bad the day of the parade, so they may not use the floats.

Ronald McDonald
Pikachu
CBS NYC at the site
Crowds walking by the view the floats
You get more of an idea of the scale from this distance. You can see the people in relation to the floats.

It would be hard to get a cab to this location. They close down Central Park West near it and several streets running into it. You can access it via subway/underground. A lot of walking is involved, so if you have issues walking, I do not recommend this. You walk a couple of blocks slowly at night with a large crowd until you arrive at the bag check. After that you walk another block or so to see the floats. I have been able to do this previously in the early afternoon. I highly recommend going then instead of at night. There are less crowds in the afternoon.

If you think you may not pick the best spot to view the parade, this is an option to add to your itinerary. It is a New York City pre-Thanksgiving tradition.

For more information: https://www.visitmacysusa.com/article/macys-thanksgiving-day-parade-balloon-inflation

People of New York

Do you ever see interesting people on your travels you would like to have a conversation with? Are certain people a fixture in a neighborhood? I recently stopped to chat with one such person.

Louis Mendes I have seen quite often on 34th Street near the corner of 9th Avenue in New York City. Since I love taking pictures, I see him when I visit my favorite camera store in the city, B and H. Louis is never without his camera. For street portraits he uses a 1940s Speed Graphic camera that he turned into an instant camera by rigging polaroid gear on the back.

Louis has taken many photos over the years of famous people. Some of those names include Denzel Washington, Spike Lee, and Hillary Clinton. He also has photographed some of the jazz greats such as Duke Ellington and Count Basie. He is from New York, but also he has liked visiting New Orleans to take photos. These days he makes money by taking photos of people on the street in New York.

Louis is an interesting person to talk to. He does move around, but I have seen him quite frequently on 34th. If you are visiting Manhattan and get down in the neighborhood of 34th Street and see him, say hello. Louis is truly an icon of New York.

Louis has a Facebook page that is maintained by a friend. You can view it here: https://www.facebook.com/LOUIS.MENDES.ICON/

You can find out more about Louis here: https://twitter.com/nypost/status/980894638205800448

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