Rumors

1. The Great Horned Owl: [Today is its 22nd day of residence]
It's rumored [all right, the source is John Blakeman] that GHO's are particularly fond of mallard meals. The good news [for GHO's]: There are many mallards on Central Park's water bodies. The bad news [for the rest of us]: the mallards are very beloved by the park's human visitors.

2. The Grackles at the Grand Army Plaza: The park is still full of Grackles, as seen in the picture below taken on 7 Jan '06. Though I reported on January 2 that they were gone from their roosts at Fifth Ave and 59th St., speculating that they had finally gone off to their winter roosts down south, rumor has it that they've been seen on at least one occasion since then.roosting in the trees across the street from Bergdorfs. I'll check it out soon.


3. Little Red -- is still building up his cache for the winter. Photographed [see below] on 7 Jan 06. An odd rumor is going round the nature community that another red squirrel has been sighted in the north part of the park... The beginning of a new dynasty?

4. The screech-owl pair: Though it is no rumor [see picture below] that a squirrel has taken over their old trysting spot, rumor has it that they moved to a new location because that hole was too near the GHO's regular daytime perch.. A contributing cause to their defection, again according to rumor and surmise, is that they got sick and tired of all the flash cameras going off at fly-out time, consequently moving to a quieter, darker neighborhood. Of course there's still the other, dismal possibility discussed in yesterday's posting.

All photos by BRUCE YOLTON
www.yolton.com/