Community garden chick

On Saturday, we walked down to Red Hook, passing several community gardens on Columbia St. In one, we heard an incessant call in a tree. At first, we thought it was the female cardinal we were looking at, but she was just responding to this vocal youngster, clasping a branch right beneath the nest.

This is late in the season for a nestling, so this was perhaps a second brood, or even a second nesting attempt, for the year. (There seemed to be at least one more nestling in the nest itself; there was also another nest, looking inactive, in this rather small tree.)
Look at those reptilian claws!

Even though Cardinalis cardinalis is commonly called the “northern cardinal,” it was until the 20th century a southern U.S. species. It had made it to Long Island by the 1930s, and has taken well to suburbia and cities as it has moved north with the rising temperatures.

Not as plentiful in Brooklyn’s neighborhoods as in Prospect Park, you will still find them on the streets if you look closely. The male, of course, is unmistakable with his all-over red and bold crest and large beak; he particularly sticks out in the snow, a living haiku. And listen: the cardinal’s song and calls are some of the easiest to recognize. Note that the female cardinal is one of the few female songbirds to vocalize.

This community garden was adding immeasurably to the neighborhood’s quality of life, not least for providing a shady, calm spot on a hot summer day. But you know that land sharks, the ravening developers, are ever ready to turn it into their personal profit. Let’s help preserve the city’s community gardens for all the city’s residents. Check out my recent post on what you can do and/or visit the NYC Community Garden Coalition to contribute to the struggle. Also, my HuffPost piece on the history of Brooklyn farming.