Robins are almost SWARMING my neighborhood.

[xiphias]

Seriously. I don't think I've EVER seen this many robins in this area. I passed a dozen within the last block of my drive home.

And the red-tailed hawk population continues to do well.

The thing is -- growing up in the Seventies and Eighties, I think I almost never saw a hawk. The population of urban raptors really didn't start to recover, that I saw, until the Nineties. So, even though Lis and I see four or five hawks every day that I drive her to work -- that's four or five DIFFERENT hawks, that we see twice, once driving to, and once driving from work -- we're STILL excited by every single one.

And robins are the same way for me.

I think Lis and I grew up during an ecological disaster, out of which we are now recovering. Which is one of the reasons I'm mildly an environmentalist -- I grew up during an environmental disaster; I don't want another one.

Comments

[erin-c-1978.livejournal.com]

That is really cool. It's so nice to hear about those parts of the critter population that really are recovering.

During this season you may also get to see varous migratory birds that are passing through on their way to Canada -- warblers and thrushes and suchlike. I don't know precisely what the migration patterns are around Boston, but I'm always astonished at how many really unusual birds I've seen in downtown Chicago. There's even a volunteer group that goes out during the early mornings in spring and fall to collect the migrants that smacked into windows overnight and take them to a safe place where they can recover and not get stepped on by commuters.

[rosefox]

I feel that way every time I hear about different types of fish swimming and spawning in the Hudson for the first time in 400 years.

[redbird]

I was in the park with cattitude a few days ago, and tried to point out a small bird. What I said was "it's right of the goose, in the reeds."

And then I noticed, and commented on, the fact that Canada geese have gone from being a rare sound overhead, to a somewhat noteworthy bird, to so common that I'm using them as landmarks.

[xiphias.livejournal.com]

Canada geese have gotten to the point of being vermin. That's actually TOO successful, in my book.

[rosefox]

At least one egret has arrived in the marsh for the summer, by the way.

[ceo]

Several big cities, Boston among them, have introduced peregrine falcons (which were once endangered due to DDT), to keep the pigeons under control. They adapt well to cities and, well, there's lots of pigeons.

[pandoras-closet.livejournal.com]

Robins, huh?

Any bats? What about clowns?

Oh come on, someone was going to say it sooner or later.

[xiphias.livejournal.com]

When I mentioned that I saw a robin, Lis's comment was, "Dick Grayson, Tim Drake, or Jason Todd?"

[delerium69.livejournal.com]

*snort* Wasn't there a girl-Robin in the comics at one point?

[xiphias.livejournal.com]

Carrie Kelly, in Dark Knight Returns. But Dark Knight Returns isn't really canon.

[pandoras-closet.livejournal.com]

Stephanie Brown, Robin #4, screwed by DC

[pandoras-closet.livejournal.com]

What about Stephanie Brown? Or Carrie Kelly?

[xiphias.livejournal.com]

DC's official position is that Stephanie Brown wasn't ever really Robin, and Dark Knight Returns isn't canon.

[pandoras-closet.livejournal.com]

They've changed that as of late.

[delerium69.livejournal.com]

There's a few hawks living on the Mall. Lots of tasty pigeons and squirrels. And we always see a ton of them along the highways. I'm glad they're doing so well.