Backyard and Beyond

Starting out from Brooklyn, an amateur naturalist explores our world.

As John Burroughs said, “The place to observe nature is where you are.”

Scat Hill

scatRat scat if I’m not mistaken. Scatologists, what say you? Found at the top of the taller of the two new hills on Governor’s Island. Seventy feet above sea-level according to the marker.
panoA panorama from the height. In the distance from the left: Jersey City, Manhattan, Brooklyn. (Click for a larger version.)

You can see the homestead from up there, with enhancement: 2.75 miles away on the moraine, with Sunset Park’s billowing wall of trees behind it. Elevation at my corner is 140 feet above sea-level. Add four stories for my view from the moraine. The park rises 30 more feet behind me. Meanwhile, the highest natural point in Brooklyn is Battle Hill in Green-Wood at 220 feet. The next highest points — Mount Prospect behind the main branch of the Brooklyn Public Library and Lookout Hill in Prospect: are all part of the same Harbor Hill moraine, a storied jumble of glacial till.

mthew

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4 responses to “Scat Hill”

  1. elwnyc

    What was the size of the scat? My pet rats’ scats were usually darker – almost black – but that might have been because they had a much more uniform diet, not scavenging the way wild rats would do.

    Reply
    1. mthew

      Less than an inch long. Squirrels are the only other mammal I know of on the island.

      Reply
    2. mthew

      Meant to say, a little less than an inch long.

      Reply
  2. elwnyc

    I found this comparison between rats and squirrels that might be useful. I noticed, like the author, that my rats moved around while defecating – so there wasn’t usually a clump of droppings.

    http://animals.mom.me/squirrel-droppings-compare-rat-droppings-5042.html

    Reply

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