The park by the river's been beautiful these past few days. Ripply waves, bright blue sky, blooming flowers, lush green grass.

And birds everywhere. We have three broods of Gadwalls, none of them, alas, as numerous as they were at the start, though as my pal Urban Naturalist points out, if duck mothers were all that good at keeping ducklings alive we'd be up to our hips in ducks. But it's sad to see the numbers dwindle. Still, at this point, among our three broods we have about a dozen ducklings. We also have a reported, though not seen by me, single brood of mallards. That there's only one is a little surprising considering the enthusiasm with which mallards go at it. We have two solitary goslings, each the remnant of a larger brood, meaning the two dozen geese weren't very productive this year, either. Not that anyone really needs more geese.

What was productive, though, was a pair of peregrine falcons! I shouldn't be happy about this, I guess, because they may be what's picking off the ducklings. But I saw one hunting at the pilings today, and had it confirmed: we have a nesting pair and they have two chicks! (Eyas, I'm told they're called. A crossword puzzle word if I ever heard one.)

We also, as usual, have blackback gulls, herring gulls, and cormorants, and just lately, terns and laughing gulls. Also, of course, cardinals, finches, robins, catbirds, and barn swallows. The pigeons want a mention, too. In fact, if you can watch them with fresh eyes, they're often very pretty. And today, leaving the park after my morning tea, I saw a baby mockingbird. Quite the wildlife refuge, Hudson River Park.