It takes a lot of work to keep those feathers in tip-top shape, as this juvenile black-crowned night heron was demonstrating yesterday along the Central Park Loch. #birds

I'm not feeling in the mood to wave the Star Spangled Banner this July 4, so I'm offering up the Great Spangled Frittilary. It's one of the butterflies that enliven the off-season for #birds. Spangled, it turns out, means decorated with stars or other adornments.

Join me at this rally/press conference this morning urging Gov. Hochul to sign the Local Input in Community Healthcare Act. It has passed both houses of the state Legislature. It requires meaningful engagement of affected communities and strengthens state oversight. #healthpolicy

Need something to brighten up a gloomy Monday? How about this pair of cedar waxwings touching beaks and then one feeding the other? Seen over the weekend at the Central Park Pool. #birds

Both juvenile and adult black-crowned night herons were hanging out in trees on the uptown side of the Central Park Pool yesterday. The juvenile, left, was mostly sleeping with one eye sometimes open, while the adult was pausing between flights around the pool looking for meals. #birds

A black-crowned night heron caught a huge fish in the Central Park Loch today, but then struggling to actually eat it. We watched as it picked the fish up, try to position it for easy swallowing and then dropped it over and over. Hope that meal eventually was consumed!

Two herons delighted birders at the west end of the Central Park Pool this afternoon. At left, a juvenile black-crowned night heron that flew into a tree. At right, a green heron that has been fishing in the Pool for several days. #birds

This female blue grosbeak appeared just for a few seconds yesterday at the Seep in Central Park (where water seeps out onto the paved path along the ridge above the Loch). It was a lifer for me, and took some time to identify. The large triangular beak and warm brown color were clues. #birds

Update on the common raven nest at Cathedral of St. John the Divine. Two youngsters are still in the nest. They are practicing flapping their wings, while still calling out for their parents to bring food. Parents swoop in and out with deliveries. #birds

This yellow-bellied flycatcher made a visit today to the Seep (a spot along the ridge above the Central Park Loch where water seeps out on to the paved path). Love those white wing bars and yellow belly! #birds

These four goslings in the grass brightened my day earlier this week at the Kingston Reservoir One. I smiled as they pushed their fuzzy bodies forward on short legs, trying to catch up with their parent Canadian Geese. #birds

After so much rain, this yellow warbler was like a ray of sunshine yesterday at Cooper Lake, near Woodstock, NY. #birds

This handsome Baltimore Oriole was watching over a nest at the Esopus Meadows Preserve in Ulster County yesterday, before the rain started.

Did you ever see a bird with white whiskers? That's how this little bird (a sparrow, I think) looked as it carried nest material this morning at the Kingston Point Park. I think the "whiskers" were actually dog hair or some type of plant material. Anyway, adorable! #birds

Need proof that common ravens are really smart? Check out their choice of a beautiful and functional nest spot tucked into the front of the Cathedral of St. John the Divine. Sheltered from the rain, the nest goes unnoticed until an adult flies in with a meal for the three youngsters. #birds

This gorgeous scarlet tanager was delighting birdwatchers this morning in the Central Park Ramble, near Azalea Pond. These tanagers are among the most brilliantly-colored spring migrants we see here. #birds

The beautiful re-imagined Harlem Meer is open for visitors, and this black-crowned night heron has taken up residence in a small island at the west end of the Meer. Yesterday, the heron peered down at the water, looking for fish, and then flew to another branch to stretch out its wings. #birds

What a treat to see this male pileated woodpecker in Riverside Park's "forever wild" area this afternoon. I've never seen one in that park before. Such a handsome bird! #birds

Black-and-white warblers are back in Central Park for their annual Spring migration visits! This was at the Pool was especially charming this morning. #birds

My Earth Day treat was a view of this Eastern Whip-poor-will in the North Woods of Central Park. Fabulous birder Christian Cooper found it on the ground early in the am, and told me where he had seen it when we crossed paths. By the time I arrived, the bird had flown high up into a tree.

The crabapple trees in Riverside Park were full of birds this morning. A sweet downy woodpecker pecked away in a tree with blossoms that matched his red head patch, while nearby a ruby-crowned kinglet cavored amongst the blossoms. #birds

Beth Israel Medical Center was killed this morning by its parent system, Mount Sinai, leaving a huge swath of Lower Manhattan with no community hospital. Mount Sinai says patients "may choose to access medical care at ... another health provider." Unacceptable! #healthpolicy

It makes no sense to allow closure of Beth Israel Medical Center, which serves the diverse LES with many low-income folks, while Lenox Hill Hospital in the affluent UES asks city officials for approval of a $2 billion-plus expansion. See my co-authored op-ed: www.nydailynews.com/2025/03/10/t...

We've been lucky to have snow geese visiting us over the winter in NY's Central Park. Yesterday, this one was stretching out its wings -- first one side, then the other -- and showing off the distinctive black tips. This was on the law north of the Harlem Meer. #birds

Say no to plans to expand Lenox Hill Hospital on the UES, which already has more hospital beds than needed, while the LES is losing Beth Israel. #healthpolicy Attend in Person or via Zoom on March 12: docs.google.com/.../1FAIpQLS... Submit Written Testimony: docs.google.com/.../1FAIpQLS...

#birds The male hooded mergansers at the Central Park Reservoir are practicing their dance moves as mating season approaches. Key moves: stretch your neck way up, bob it forward, throw it back and make a little sound. Adorable!

How do you do health policy and advocacy working from the grassroots up to the national level? The Raising Women's Voices presented an unusual collaboration of 3 national non-profit women's and LGBTQ health orgs and 28 state/local nonprofits. drive.google.com/file/d/1p5bt...

I followed this juvenile red-tailed hawk yesterday as it swooped through the "forever wild" section of Riverside Park and paused on branches occasionally. Gorgeous creature! #birds

#Healthpolicy New Yorkers, please help us convince Gov Hochul to sign this bill. Contact her thru her website at: www.governor.ny.gov/content/gove...

Please ask NY Gov Kathy Hochul to #SigntheLICHBill and give communities are voice when their hospitals propose closing or downsizing. This is important #HealthPolicy. Email TODAY thru her website at: www.governor.ny.gov/content/gove...

NY's new health equity impact assessment law failed to require them for hospital closures. Tell Gov. Hochul to fix that by signing the Local Input for Community Healthcare (LICH) bill. Call 518.474.8390 or email thru her website TODAY: governor.ny.gov/content/governor-contact-form

We need 150 more signatures on this petition to Gov. Hochul. Please sign!

Too many hospitals have closed - and disproportionately in underserved communities. @govkathyhochul.bsky.social, it’s time to stand up for the public health of New Yorkers. Sign the LICH bill now! #LocalCommunitiesDeserveASay actionnetwork.org/petitions/lo...

New Yorkers, please sign the petition urging Gov. Kathy Hochul to sign the Local Input for Community Healthcare bill! She must act within the next 10 days. #healthpolicy Here's where to sign the petition: actionnetwork.org/petitions/lo...

New Yorkers, please sign the petition urging Gov. Kathy Hochul to sign the Local Input for Community Healthcare bill! She must act within the next 10 days. #healthpolicy Here's where to sign the petition: actionnetwork.org/petitions/lo...

New Yorkers, please sign this petition to urge Gov. Kathy Hochul to sign a bill that will ensure health equity impact assessments are done, and mitigation strategies devised, when hospitals want to close. #healthpolicy Here is the link: actionnetwork.org/petitions/lo...

Sign the petition to NY Gov. Kathy Hochul: actionnetwork.org/petitions/lo...

NY law requires a health equity assessment to predict the impact of proposed hospital changes on medically-underserved people and help devise mitigation strategies. But, a loophole in state law exempts closures of entire hospitals. Tell Gov. Kathy Hochul to sign the LICH bill and fix this!

New Yorkers are seeing too many hospitals close, and Beth Israel may be next. The state Legislature has passed a bill to strengthen community engagement and state oversight when hospitals want to close or shut units like ER and maternity. We need Gov. Kathy Hochul to sign the bill! #healthpolicy

Four years ago, in the first year of the pandemic, this barred owl appeared in Riverside Park at 115th and cheered us all up. I will never forget gathering under this tree with our masked neighbors and staring up in awe!

Saw this great-looking Eastern Kingbirds this morning along the trail at the Teaneck Creek Conservancy in New Jersey. Perhaps an adult and youngster? #birds

Kingston (NY) Reservoir One is a great place to watch wading birds. We saw this Great Blue Heron there last week as it stalked fish, frogs and dragonflies. #birds

#birds This green heron posed beautifully over the weekend at Kingston Reservoir One.