Pelham Bay Adventure
On the last Saturday in March, Toby planned a day trip for us out to Pelham Bay, at the northeastern edge of the Bronx. The trip involved a bus ride, a subway ride, and then a walk into the park. I could imagine the park being very crowded during the summer time (complete with a trucked-in sandy beach), but seeing as it was still a bit chilly, we had a relatively quiet day.
Robert Moses' vision realized - Orchard Beach at Pelham Bay.
We had to walk across a bridge, past the old landfill site, and around a parking lot before getting to the seashore. But what a fantastic shore it was! We could almost pretend there was no one around. Unfortunately, just across the way were enormous houses, perhaps luxury getaways? There were several people digging for clams (we magically arrived during low tide) and unfortunately, a loud group of city folk who felt the need to blare their music and converse by shouting. Otherwise, it was just us and wildlife!
Mussels everywhere!
We saw our first skunk cabbage of the year. Not too smelly yet, thankfully! We roamed about a tidal island, where we saw a pair of oystercatchers! We'd been hearing these high-pitched whistling noises, and couldn't place the sounds until we came across these two birds. They're pretty silly-looking, with large orange-red bills and an awkward walk. These guys inspire me to write a children's picture book starring a pair of funny oystercatchers!
First skunk cabbage of the season.
Crazy oystercatchers with their silly walks!
While Kris stalks oystercatchers, Toby takes in the view.
Our wanderings took us by a horseshoe crab shell! What a fantastic (in the sense of 'fantasy') creature this is! Toby couldn't help trying it on! Mussels were everywhere too. No wonder so many seagulls were about the shoreline! There were oodles of raccoon tracks and small holes where they had been digging in the mud for their lunch. The woods were oddly silent though, until we were walking away from the beach along the (currently) unused bus loop. At that point a red-tailed hawk swooped over us, settled in a tree and berated us for walking too close. About fifty meters further along - far enough that the hawk had quieted, but close enough that we could still see it -- suddenly the woods was full of woodpeckers. They seemed quite content to hang out together despite belonging to at least three different species. It was nice to see their flashes of red against the drab background of a forest not yet ready to sprout leaves.
Does this suit me?
Despite the somewhat chilly temperatures (about 8C) there were some hardy sunbathers hanging out, on a bench, in their speedos. But for the most park the few visitors to the beach seemed to be their so that the kids could run around in the sand for a bit. It was a nice place, but if the 5000 space parking lot (and the bus loop with twelve parallel loading areas) are any indications, I don't think we would enjoy visiting it in the summer.
The snack stop. You can imagine the crowds, can't you?
Robert Moses' vision realized - Orchard Beach at Pelham Bay.
We had to walk across a bridge, past the old landfill site, and around a parking lot before getting to the seashore. But what a fantastic shore it was! We could almost pretend there was no one around. Unfortunately, just across the way were enormous houses, perhaps luxury getaways? There were several people digging for clams (we magically arrived during low tide) and unfortunately, a loud group of city folk who felt the need to blare their music and converse by shouting. Otherwise, it was just us and wildlife!
Mussels everywhere!
We saw our first skunk cabbage of the year. Not too smelly yet, thankfully! We roamed about a tidal island, where we saw a pair of oystercatchers! We'd been hearing these high-pitched whistling noises, and couldn't place the sounds until we came across these two birds. They're pretty silly-looking, with large orange-red bills and an awkward walk. These guys inspire me to write a children's picture book starring a pair of funny oystercatchers!
First skunk cabbage of the season.
Crazy oystercatchers with their silly walks!
While Kris stalks oystercatchers, Toby takes in the view.
Our wanderings took us by a horseshoe crab shell! What a fantastic (in the sense of 'fantasy') creature this is! Toby couldn't help trying it on! Mussels were everywhere too. No wonder so many seagulls were about the shoreline! There were oodles of raccoon tracks and small holes where they had been digging in the mud for their lunch. The woods were oddly silent though, until we were walking away from the beach along the (currently) unused bus loop. At that point a red-tailed hawk swooped over us, settled in a tree and berated us for walking too close. About fifty meters further along - far enough that the hawk had quieted, but close enough that we could still see it -- suddenly the woods was full of woodpeckers. They seemed quite content to hang out together despite belonging to at least three different species. It was nice to see their flashes of red against the drab background of a forest not yet ready to sprout leaves.
Does this suit me?
Despite the somewhat chilly temperatures (about 8C) there were some hardy sunbathers hanging out, on a bench, in their speedos. But for the most park the few visitors to the beach seemed to be their so that the kids could run around in the sand for a bit. It was a nice place, but if the 5000 space parking lot (and the bus loop with twelve parallel loading areas) are any indications, I don't think we would enjoy visiting it in the summer.
The snack stop. You can imagine the crowds, can't you?
posted by blumaroo at
2:56 PM
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