Tag: birds
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A different kind of duck
A pair of American black ducks were enjoying the waters of the North River off the West 60s on Friday. I saw a pair around here last winter as well, mixing in with our usual mallards and Canada geese. The male is the one with the yellow beak. These birds apparently breed in the warmer…
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Navigational perch
A double crested cormorant sat atop Hudson River lighted buoy number 3 off Riverdale on Wednesday evening. This buoy marks the western edge of 35’+ deep channel here. Towards the Jersey shoreline from here low tide depths taper from the 20’s to the teens on charts.
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Morning fishing
An osprey, not often seen on this section of the estuary, was fishing on the North River near the Boat Basin Marina on Friday morning with the apartment buildings of North Bergen in backdrop.
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Late goslings
I always like to record the first goslings I see every spring on the North River. April 30 is later than I have seen them begin to appear in the past and this is the only family I’ve seen so far—perhaps the harsh winter or the bird flu took a toll or the windy spring…
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Cormorants are back
Double-crested cormorants have been fishing off the end of Pier i this week. These birds return to the North River every spring after wintering down south and feast on fish coming up the river to spawn.
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Brant season
It’s a sign of spring when Brant geese arrive on the North River, which they do every year around this time. These were spotted on Thursday near Pier 51.
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Less common birds
Ice has largely cleared from the shores of the North River along the West Side this morning, but for whatever reason some birds we don’t often see here have moved in with a bufflehead and a gadwall fishing off Riverside Park South. Back to boats tomorrow.
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Tuesday 23 April—Reverse Angle
Traffic Tuesday included a foreign sugar cargo heading for Yonkers, plus a typical mix of oil and stone products. A trip to the Jersey side provides some good reverse angle opportunities.
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Tuesday Feb 6–morning rush
The North River got busy after sunrise Tuesday morning, with a cruise ship arriving and a fuel barge getting delivered at Pier 88 while tanker barges moved through.
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Wednesday January 31–fueling the north
Tanker barges headed north loaded with fuel Wednesday as temperatures continued to hover above freezing on the final day of January. A bulk ship headed for sea after unloading cement upstate.
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Saturday Jan 27—A gap in the weather
Saturday brought typical traffic to the north river and moderate temperatures with a break in the precipitation, bringing some paddle boarders out.
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Fog then sun
Warm air moved over the cool North River Wednesday morning, producing a layer of fog which quickly burned off. The city got hot, and winds picked up in the afternoon, making for great October sailing. Midweek traffic was light.
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Drying out
North River traffic has remained heavy as we move into October and the rains of September recede over the stern. A large number of pleasure craft are also traversing the river, probably many in transit to their winter boatyards as the season draws to a close.
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Traveling light
Weekend traffic was light but a handful of tug/barge combinations remained anchored in the North River, with the Dylan Cooper ATB off Edgewater and Centerline’s Adeline Marie a bit further south Sunday, and the B. Franklin in between before heading for the Upper Bay Saturday. Centerline’s William J Fallon also anchored south of Adeline on…
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Turkish cement
A bulk ship came up the North River Wednesday heading for the Cementon dock in Catskill, NY. The cement plant there has been closed for years, but Heidelberg Cement appears to have converted it into an import terminal. The SSI Marvelous was arriving from Turkey after first spending some time partially unloading the Heidelberg dock…
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Local traffic
After a run of days with foreign flagged vessels heading upriver, the final week of July has brought mainly local vessels on familiar routes. The North River anchorages remained busy. While Lincoln Sea returned to the Upper Bay, Dylan Cooper remained in place and was joined by B. Franklin Reinauer and Kimberly Poling.
North River Notes 