Murray Hill has been particularly still these past few days, as the heat blisters the sidewalks and sensible creatures stay close to the nest.
I saw a dead pigeon on the sidewalk a few blocks away. No injuries were apparent. I wonder if the heat caused his demise?
The Mourning Doves still steal my attention, and I feel bad for them in this heat, punctuated by the occasional fierce storm. The next couple of days promise 100 degree plus temperatures, with high humidity. I doubt I'll be in the field.
I visited Point Pleasant, NJ for a day on the beach on Saturday. I recognized Laughing Gulls, the other gulls I didn't ID; I don't know gulls very well, so that's no surprise.

Quiet. The Mourning Doves still tend their nest. Rock doves, house sparrows...

Nothing new to report about the Mourning Doves. I look at them, and I fancy they look at me, but that might be nothing more than fancy.
I was pleased and surprised to hear an unfamiliar song from the rear of the apartment building. There is a spacious area behind with trees, abutting the terraces of the buildings on the next street.
The song turned out to be that of a house finch, or finches, as a group of them, adult immature, male and female were all present. Not a big deal in the scheme of things, but I had never seen them beforein my Manhattan neighborhood. They were joined by house sparrows and later a cardinal. A good start to the birdday.

A MoDo Nests in Murray Hill

It's hotter than Hades in Manhattan today and I'm grateful for the AC. Yards away on a grimy and battered fire escape five stories up, a mourning dove, faithful to her nest, incubates her eggs. The nest, typically, is a skimpy contrivance, barely there. A broken board leans at an angle above the nest, sheltering it from the fierce, intermittent rains we've had over the past week. The incubation is shared by Dada MoDo, and I hope Mama has a green and shady spot for a respite. (The digital cam can't do this justice, so photos must wait for actual film development.)
The neighborhood otherwise yields the usual winged creatures:
House sparrows
Rock doves
Starlings