Day: February 8, 2009

Tugs Dance on the Rondout

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Ward 9 resident Kate Lawson snapped some great photos of the tugs and barges on the Rondout this weekend. The boats did a little dance to break up the ice.

“Feeney’s were parallel parking a new barge that came in earlier this week,” Kate said. “Have you ever tried parallel parking a barge? It took a good 20 men, 2 tugs, a crane and over 5 hrs of jockeying to do!”

Kate said two tugs “did doughnuts in the creek to chop up the ice. Then came the tedious process of line throwing, lining up and a little more ice chopping.”

Fun stuff.

— Arthur Zaczkiewicz

A Cooper on Brewster

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Early Saturday morning I noticed a large hawk that swooped down from my neighbor’s house on Brewster Street and grabbed a small bird that was preoccupied at a bird feeder.

In a burst of small feathers, the attack was quickly over and the larger hawk then perched itself on a tree branch to enjoy the meal. I snapped a few photos, including the one above, and looked up the bird. Based on the lateral, thick bands on its tail, I take this bird of prey to be a Cooper’s Hawk.

If you can help me confirm this, that would be appreciated. And if you have any similar bird or wildlife stories, I’d love to hear it.  That’s one of the things that makes Kingston a great place to live: we’re in a city, but also blessed with some wonderful wildlife.

— Arthur Zaczkiewicz