Yesterday I took another ride to Point Lookout. By mid-afternoon, the temperature had reached 15C (60F), in contrast to the freezing-level temperatures compounded by wind I experienced last Thursday. Also, the day was bright and sunny, so I wasn't surprised that half the world, it seemed, was out and about.
When birds congregate like that, I wonder what they're up to. Are they just "hanging out?" Or is there some other purpose? Maybe they'd just been enjoying lunch together: After all, that beach seems to be one of their prime feeding spots. And to think that they eat stuff for which humans pay real money in restaurants!
Whatever their motives, I can't say I blame them, even if they weren't cooped up, the way people have been.
Speaking of humans: I noticed an interesting contrast in their behaviors. I rode down the Rockaway Boardwalk, as I usually do on my way to (and sometimes back) from Point Lookout. I also pedaled along Long Beach's boardwalk, which I sometimes do. On the Rockaway Boardwalk, which was nearly empty last week, I'd say that I saw at least a couple hundred people on the seven kilometers or so from the Veterans' Memorial Bridge to the Beach 9th Street. Most of them were wearing masks and even those who seemed to be family or friends were keeping the prescribed social distance (6 feet). On the other hand, on the three-kilometer stretch in Long Beach, I saw about as many people, but only two other people--both of them cyclists--wore masks. And I saw some furrowed brows and stares aimed in my direction.
The one explanation I can think of for the difference is demography: The Rockaway crowd is more diverse and, it seems, more accustomed to cyclists. I don't think I saw a single nonwhite person (not even an Asian!) in Long Beach, which I suppose makes sense given that it's not as diverse as Rockaway Beach, Arverne or Far Rockaway, the Queens communities through which I pedaled on the boardwalk. Given that disparity, another is not surprising: the Long Beach crowd is definitely more middle- to upper middle-class and, I am sure, included at least a few of the New York City and Nassau County detectives who live there.
Perhaps I shouldn't be critical of Long Beach's seeming homogeneity--after all, the birds in the photo all look alike. Then again, the birds weren't wearing masks, not out of ignorance or as a political statement (in this case, they're the same thing), but because, well, that's just not something birds do!
No comments:
Post a Comment