Bob Levy

tags: NYC, New York City, Bob Levy, image of the day Reflection On Frozen Central Park Lake: 01.17.09, 4:19 PM This image is of the New York City skyline reflected on the ice at Central Park Lake. I was looking south from Bank Rock Bay at the northern end of the lake. The original shot was darker. I adjusted the brightness to achieve this effect. Image: Bob Levy, author of Club George [larger view].
tags: thanksgiving escape, wild turkey in central park, bob levy Image: Bob Levy, author of Club George, 2008 [larger view]. The photographer writes: I found the one and only Wild Turkey continuing to forage in Central Park this week. However it was the first time I found him at Turtle Pond which is north of his usual haunts. Apparently he is extending his range. I wonder what powerful motivating force has convinced this bird to remain here alone instead of joining others of his kind outside the city?
tags: Northern cardinal, Cardinalis cardinalis, birds, Central Park, Image of the Day Mama Shakespeare's Guacamole? Female Northern Cardinal, Cardinalis cardinalis. Image: Bob Levy, author of Club George [larger]. The photographer writes; Mama Shakespeare interrupted her meal to pay me a visit in, where else, Central Park's Shakespeare Garden. Look at her closely. No, that isn't guacamole squirting out of her beak. It is of insect origin but I do not know precisely what creature it formerly was. I do know that I have seen this same light shade of green protruding from Northern Cardinal…
tags: Northern cardinal, Cardinalis cardinalis, birds, Central Park, Image of the Day The results of the Most Explosive Northern Cardinal Molt of 2008 in Central Park are in. Papa Museum wins the competition hands, er, feathers down. Image: Bob Levy, author of Club George [larger]. The photographer, Bob Levy, writes; Note: No cardinals were injured in this competition. Hey, I know he looks like an explosion in a mattress factory but it is a "natural" occurrence. Also Note: There wasn't a large number of competitors. Actually, it only included the six males I regularly observe but that…
tags: black-crowned night-heron, Nycticorax nycticorax, birds, Central Park, Image of the Day How Best to Scratch an Itch. Image: Bob Levy, author of Club George [larger]. The photographer, Bob Levy, writes; Here's a Black-crowned Night Heron fledgling demonstrating how to best scratch an itch with what one has available. In this case it's a carefully retracted leg and sinewy foot.
tags: raccoons, mammals, Procyon lotor,, Central Park, Image of the Day Answer: it's the noses on two sleeping raccoons, of course. Raccoon noses in a tree in Central Park, NYC. Image: Bob Levy, author of Club George [larger]. The photographer, Bob Levy, writes; You might recall that Grrl Scientist posted a photo of a single raccoon schnoz poking out of this same hole last year. Notice, if you will, that of the two schnozs in this new image the one in the background appears to be larger than the one in the foreground. I suspect that the larger nose is attached to Mama Raccoon. After I took…
tags: birds, Red-tailed hawk, Buteo jamaicensis, ornithology, Image of the Day Red-tailed hawk, Buteo jamaicensis, in Central Park, with blood on its talons. Image: Bob Levy, author of Club George. [larger view]. Bob Levy writes; I have two comments and images to add to my story of March 10, 2008 entitled "A Bulging Photo Opportunity" about a female juvenile Red-tailed Hawk. The first concerns a sassy if imprudent Gray Squirrel. Over a period of several minutes the furry creature deliberately came with a couple of yards of the hawk. I cannot know its motivation but to this observer it…
tags: birds, Red-tailed hawk, Buteo jamaicensis, ornithology, Image of the Day Red-tailed hawk, Buteo jamaicensis, in Central Park, being taunted by an Eastern grey squirrel. Image: Bob Levy, author of Club George. [larger size]. Bob Levy writes; I have two comments and images to add to my story of March 10, 2008 entitled "A Bulging Photo Opportunity" about a female juvenile Red-tailed Hawk. The first concerns a sassy if imprudent Gray Squirrel. Over a period of several minutes the furry creature deliberately came with a couple of yards of the hawk. I cannot know its motivation but to…
tags: Central Park turtles, reptiles, Image of the Day Central Park Turtle performing the pencil pose. Image: Bob Levy, author of Club George. [Wallpaper size] The photographer writes: Here another practitioner demonstrates a position hitherto unknown to me. I bet you never saw it either. I will call it, appropriately enough, the Pencil Pose. The strategic placement of the yellow number two pencil is seemingly crucial to the performance of this pose though its precise purpose eludes me. If nothing else the yellow color brings a warmth to the visual enjoyment of the performance but…
I first learned about this book, Club George: The Diary of a Central Park Bird Watcher (NYC: Thomas Dunne Books, 2006), when the author, Bob Levy, was interviewed recently by Brian Lehrer on the local National Public Radio affiliate, WNYC [mp3, 17:54]. After that interview concluded, I poked around on the internet, found the publicist's contact information and emailed him, requesting a review copy of the book, which he was happy to provide. Club George is the story of the relationship that developed between a human and a wild bird, the transformation of a focused career man into a devoted…