An Old Friend

     Today I worked from my old digs at Central Park Zoo, in Manhattan. The day began as rainy in Brooklyn. I came up from the F train at 57th street to ice. The ice was so intense that I could not fold up my umbrella as it was covered in a sheet of ice. By 1:30, the ice changed to fluffy snow. The snow was beautiful, but the weather combinations made it not so fun to walk around.
     One thing I was looking forward to seeing, aside from my favorite zoo animals was a house sparrow. What could be so great about a house sparrow? Well this one is different, he stands out from the others and he has been living at the zoo since I began working there in 2011. I kept an eye out for him when in or around the zoo. I saw lots of other birds seeking shelter from the weather and hoping for a free meal from the zoo birds. But would I see my favorite sparrow?

I took a lunchtime walk through the zoo, seeing the animals and any wild wildlife doing their thing in the falling snow. Biru, the red panda is right at home in this weather.

A grackle grabs some fresh water, a lot of the fresh water sources out in the park are becoming more and more, if not completely frozen over.

A snowy squirrel wonders where all the tourists are that feed him all the time. Gotta revert back to his wild squirrel ways...

White throated sparrow in the most Southern end of Central Park on my walk to the subway to go home.

A white throated sparrow assumes the floofy look, this helps to trap air between its skin and feather to insulate and keep warm.

A lot of white throated sparrows out today... And not shy at all, or just too cold to move.

 And then, as I exited the park, I saw a group of house and white throated sparrows feeding on a pillar. And who was there in the group? No other than my most favorite house sparrow! Was so glad I took a long glance before crossing Central Park South, because I do love seeing this little male sparrow:

This sparrow has some piebald on its wings, its primary flight feathers are perfectly white. He is gorgeous in flight, flashing white.

I love finding something exciting in the ordinary everyday. I love that this little sparrow is still frequenting the same area for the last few years. Here is a post I made about him over a year ago.

Just doing his thing, surviving like the champ he is. 

 Seriously, seeing this little bird was one of the highlights of my day. I used to see him every day when I worked at the zoo, so being able to see him today made me smile.