Thin Green Line
What goes on in an urban park

I was up on the rise away from the little cove where herons visit and geese and ducks nest when I heard men’s voices. I picked out colored shirts and thought there were three, who I figured would have fishing poles. When I came up the road I was slightly astonished to count eight men tromping the marsh. They had metal detectors.

I asked what was going on, their representative said they were “working with the state” and looking for a motorcycle, built in 1962 that was purportedly driven into “a pond.” I expressed the wish they watch out for bird nests and wildlife. “Oh, there’s nests in there?” He seemed genuinely astonished at the idea. His companions sniggered.

“I hoped you were here to clean up the place.”

He laughed and replied, “I think that’s your job!”

On Saturday my daughter and I witnessed a young man let his large, black dog plunge into the small pond after the wood duck hen and young that were resting on a log. A woman who was in the park today had two dogs, one on a lead, the other she let run free where we witnessed it chase a chipmunk, birds and squirrels. She said, ‘”He wouldn’t hurt the little creatures.” –Well, lady, when a wild animal is chased by a carnivore, it is not having a good time.

Earlier today we found this turtle, which someone stomped to death. We have seen other small creatures crushed. It is great to have park rules and laws against this, but without actual enforcement. This continues.

I left a report about the turtle on the Park Ranger line. Someone has to speak up.

This shot was taken with the sun at a bad angle, but there was a pair of geese with their two young and a big family of wood ducks (I counted 11 young) all together, so I could not resist. It wasn’t until I uploaded the images to my PC that I saw the big turtle with its neck outstretched on the log with the ducklings!

My mind was eased today after I spotted a group of geese, – adults and 8 juvenile geese on the marshy spit (usually overrun by people fishing). –It would be better if I saw all 12 little ones, but maybe tomorrow.

This was the first sun in many days and there were 3 (painted) turtles soaking up rays. I’ve been alert for signs of nesting.

The last couple of days, even with clouds / low light, hermit thrushes have nearly fooled me into thinking they were cardinals, the plumage looks so red. They are beautiful. They seem have have cut back on their singing, and I miss that lovely trill.

New mushrooms are popping in response to the damp, – white ones and the showy orange-red caps.

The rain was crazy last night. The weed from the small pond was up 3 feet onto the shore and several mid-large tree limbs were down behind the school. Despite that I got a record count of chipmunks (28), nearly as many squirrels (including 2 black morphs), saw a young rabbit and a pair of flickers (woodpeckers) among the usual park denizens.

This was the third day I saw no geese. There had been a steady census of 12 adults and 12 young (down from 15). Where have they gone?

I’ve been seeing a female wood duck with 4 ducklings fairly regularly, but I’m saddened not to see the male and because I counted 10 young initially.

Last week, I was seeing a mallard hen with 4-7 young at different spots. This week it’s been a single hen, accompanied by multiple males (5 today) but no babies.

I’ve had some interaction with park employees and they actually followed up promptly. On Monday 6/7 someone removed a grate on road and leaving a hazard (the miscreants shoved a trash barrel down there). They also cleared a horrible trashing of the children’s play area, -which was far more than my daughter and I could handle ourselves. – So I’m happy to report something positive about maintenance.

Yesterday afternoon I got a call from the Parks Maintenance Department, as the man was asking about the dead chicken. [I assumed the Park Ranger gave him my number after my report(s)] So I explained (again) the body was at the Armory Street trash can at the entrance adjacent to the playing field. The man said they were having trouble finding it….then he said he thought they found it. (I also took the opportunity to tell that the barbecue grill was moved behind a bush, but still there – after two weeks.)

This morning, I rolled out early to beat the heat and expected a pretty nice walk. So I come through the gate…and yes, the dead chicken, outside the box now, is still there on the ground next to the barrel. I took another picture, but it is too gross to post.

None of the trash has been emptied (the Chicopee end barrel has been full since Friday, which I also reported.) —So here’s the punch line, — as I was leaving park, a white-haired employee was riding a noisy, smelly, mower was jockeying around at the edge of the field. [Yeah, carcasses can decay, trash can overflow, tires and plastic can fill the ponds.....but the grass gets cut.]

So sad. Every year I have eagerly counted the yellow fuzzy goslings to arrive at a peak (15 this year) and see the numbers dwindle. This past week it seemed there was a constant 12 being cared for two sets of parents in a big bunch.

Yesterday I walked with my daughter and her boyfriend. As we came in the south gate and approached the view of the water under the pines, I saw large piece of blue trash, as I got closer, I saw more and went about my clean-up. The kids followed me down toward the shore and I heard a quiet, “Oh, no.” My daughter recognized a dead chick on the ground, its body being scavenged.

I’m always afraid of the animals being entangled in fishing line (as happened to at least one gosling last year), but there was no visible clue to cause of death. My daughter stated a natural predator would have eaten the goose, so what killed it? –No CSI here. No care for wild things from those appointed to ‘care’ for city resources.

Additional: That barbecue grill someone left two Sundays ago is still here, though I thought it gone, it was just moved behind a bush and no longer visible from the track. Oh yeah, the box with the headless chicken in it —still there, right on Armory Street.

My daughter and I went running to see why some Canada Geese were honking like crazy, -always a bit fearful they and/or the little ones were being accosted. As we topped the rise where we could see to the water’s edge, two loud adult geese directed their attention to a couple on the ground nearby. The movement of the female pulling her top back on drew my eye. –Oops.  –We expected they would leave since they knew other people were in the park.  However, from the other side of the pond, they were in clear view and engaged in an act for which laws  were written to protect sensibilities of human beings, -if not those of the geese.

Found evidence of animal cruelty, too which I’ve reported before here, -and through phone calls to the park rangers. Below, is a cardboard box with the body of dead chicken inside. The green string appears to have been used to behead the bird.

Just returned from a later than usual visit and found the water’s edge at every clearing filled with people fishing. Discovered goose families upon shore and counted at least 15 young today.

The sandpiper was there in the same spot! Also saw a hermit thrush and catbirds,one of which was singing a surprisingly lovely song. First brown-headed cowbird, possibly with one its young.

The usual bird species I have not reported here for a while include: robins, red-winged blackbirds, grackles, jays,mourning doves,cardinals and woodpeckers.

Counting an average of 14 squirrels (3 black morphs Saturday) and 19 chipmunks today.

Lastly, found a leopard frog hopping across the park road and saw a bullfrog’s head peaking out of the small pond.

So sad to find this beautiful bird dead early this afternoon. It did not appear to have been mauled by an animal. It has been very gusty the last several days and it may have been injured in a fall-as it wasn’t an experienced flier. –I moved the poor darling and nestled it into the leaves beneath a bush with small, white blooms.