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Showing posts from March, 2012

Pelicans and other birds in the Royal Parks

A few weeks ago we visited several of the Royal Parks in London. The Royal Parks are Bushy Park, The Green Park, Greenwich Park, Hyde Park, Kensington Gardens, The Regent's Park & Primrose Hill, Richmond Park, and St James's Park. We were impressed by the number and diversity of water and garden birds that inhabit the various parks.  Coot, Moorhen, Mute Swan, Crow, and Pelican were unusual sightings for us.  Our favorite were the pelicans at St. James's Park and we recorded two of the pelicans living in the 58-acre park which is located in the center of London. According to the St. James's Park website there are three Eastern or Great White Pelicans and one American White Pelican.  (A 2006 BBC article describes the population as four Eastern Whites and one Louisiana Brown.) Of the Royal Parks, Pelicans ( Pelecanus ) are only found in St. James's Park where they were first introduced in 1684, a gift to King Charles II by a Russian ambassador.  

James R. Urban, FASLA critiques tree stabilization

Not long after reading James R. Urban's essay arguing against automatically staking newly planted trees in the January 2012 issue of Landscape Architecture Magazine I saw an example of a tree that had been staked too long and improperly.  Urban recommends above ground staking with arbor tie tape and in most cases, removal after the first growing season.  Read an excerpt of the essay here and the full article is available with a subscription to LAM.

Two favorite early spring flowering trees

My favorite spring flowering trees are the Callery pear and the ornamental cherry. I particularly like the pair of Callery pears on West 4th near Greene Street and the three large weeping cherries in the southwest quadrant of the Sasaki Garden at Washington Square Village. What are your favorite spring bloomers? View more photographs in the Early-Spring Flowering Trees Flickr photoset.

Winter Walk-Off 2012 in London

Les of A Tidewater Gardener is hosting his Winter Walk-Off again this year.  Read our contribution to the 2011 Walk-Off here .  This year we share photographs of several features we observed on our walks in London.  If you would like to contribute to the walk-off, the deadline is March 19 and details can be found here . The spread of London planetrees at Hyde Park. Allees, malls, and other linear arrangements of trees (also taken in Hyde Park). Lovely utility access covers. Mews and alleys to shorten your journey or to bypass busy roads. Creative, adventurous playgrounds. So many private squares -- nice to look at though but even better if you have a key... Gorgeous architecture! This photograph of the original Natural History Museum (entry is free). Thoughtful historic preservation, at the V&A Museum (also free entry): "The damage to these walls is the result of enemy bombing during the blitz of the Second World War 1939-1945

In full swing

Image: Belt seat swings, Hester Street Playground, Manhattan The recent recall of Landscape Structures "Slalom Glider" reminded us that we had not written about playgrounds or play spaces since last October. Also, we only have two essays in the "At play" series. In this post we consider the older belt seat swing and the newer flat seat swing . Image: Flat seat swings, Washington Square Park, Manhattan The belt seat swing is often listed as the "standard belt seat" in play equipment catalogues. It is made of molded rubber; thick yet flexible and adjusts to the anatomy of the swinger. On the other hand, the flat seat swing can be made of vulcanized rubber or more commonly rigid high-density polyethylene (aka HDPE). HDPE is light weight but it does not conform to the swinger's "seat" nor does it "stick" to certain types of fabric. Both factors often lead to slippage for children who are transitioning from the infant/

New York City's animal geography

Wildlife in New York City is the subject of an essay by Traci Warkentin in the March 2012 issue of AAG Newsletter.  AAG (American Association of Geographers) held its annual conference in New York City last week. The specific geographic focus of Warkentin's article was Central Park and she writes, "At 843 acres, spanning from 59th to 110th Street, Central Park alone provides habitat for multitudes of animals and a wide diversity of species."  I learned that "over 275 species of migrating birds" use the park as a stopover; rats, raccoons, piegons, geese are common; and owls, herons, bats, red-tailed hawks, rabbits, and turtle are less so.  Warkentin also mentions the unseen and rarely seen invertebrates, pollinators, detritivors, and decomposers.  The essay ends with a description of the Animal Geography Specialty Group of the AAG and its mission "to enhance geographic research and scholarship on matters relating to human-animal studies."