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St. Louis Brews, 3rd Edition

St. Louis Brews, 3rd Edition
$45.00 $40.50

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  • Ivan Grayslacks escapes again. Rascal! Steer clear of those feeders, birdies. #lovethisguy #catnerd
  • Here’s a #stlpark that should get a full blog write up. Not for the space (which is not very inviting), but for the woman it’s named after. Rumbold Park in the Jeff VanderLou neighborhood is named after Charlotte Rumbold, a progressive social reformer in the early 20th Century and all around amazing woman. Among a long list of accomplishments, Rumbold was named the first secretary of the Public Recreation Commission in St. Louis in 1907. Her work was a major part of the effort to clean up the slums and horrid living conditions that existed in #stl at the time. She was also instrumental in the creation of St. Louis’s public bathhouses (see the blog about those) and the improvement of city parks (hey, my park muse!). But maybe what I like best about her is when the Board of Aldermen denied her a raise due to the fact “she is not a voter” (this was pre-19th Amendment), she quit and left town. Thanks to that gang of idiots, Charlotte Rumbold took her talents and activism to Cleveland. Anyway, Rumbold Park is 3 acres in size and was put into ordinance in 1945. It has a ball field, basketball court, a playground, and a walking path. No good birds in this park, but a couple hours later I found a female American Redstart in @towergrovepark. I really love this shot for some reason. Must be the light. #stlparks #stlbirds #americanredstart
  • Walked Forest Park in search of new birds yesterday. Along with admiring our history museum, I landed my first sighting of a Black-crowned Night-heron (pic2). Couldn’t get the full bird, but how about that eye? Not a great shot, but I also got a fun shot of a Great Egret fishing (pic 3). That lump in his throat? That’s the previous fish. And finally, consider joining me at the Missouri History Museum on June 20 as I present the history of beer in St. Louis in the same building I was just admiring (pic 4). I promise no bird photos in that talk. It’s all 🍺! #stlbirds #stlbeer
  • My #stlpark survey took me to Gravois Park this morning (located in the south city Gravois Park neighborhood). Bounded by Compton, Lousiana, Potomac, and Miami, Gravois Park is 8.2 acres in size. It is one of the oldest parks in the city, going into ordinance in 1812. Prior to being a park, the land was part of the common fields that radiated out from the village. According to the city’s website, the park was not visited much in its early days due to its isolated location. The park looked pretty good during my visit. Mowers were out, and the pavilion (pic 2) looked nice in the morning light. Plenty of robins and starlings call Gravois Park home, along with at least one House Finch that I spotted high in a tree. European Starlings (pic 3) are an invasive bird and many consider them a pest. I still think they have a cool look to them (the males display great color when light hits ‘em right), and they also have a good story. Supposedly, a man named Eugene Schieffelin had a plan back in the 1890’s to introduce all the birds mentioned in the plays of William Shakespeare to America. So in 1890, he released 60 starlings in New York City’s Central Park, and the following year he did it again with 40 birds. Today, scientists estimate that more than 200 million starling descendants from those two flocks are now residing in the United States. #ineedtowriteaboutthat #stl #stlparks #gravoispark #birdhistory
  • This Yankee and Bills fan from upstate New York is all St. Louis tonight! Let’s go Blues! #playgloria #ihaventwornthisthinginyears #ilovestlouis
  • Didn’t get a bird in my last #stl park post (they seem to avoid soccer matches), so I thought I’d share a good shot I took yesterday. As usual, Tower Grove Park comes through again. #stlbirds #redbelliedwoodpecker
  • My #stl park explorations took an amazing turn this weekend. On Saturday, I visited De Soto Park in the Carr Square neighborhood. Checking in at 17.4 acres, De Soto Park was established in 1908 and enlarged in 1952 as a recreational space for the former Pruitt-Igoe complex. The famous St. Stanislaus Kostka church sits on its northern side. It has a walking path, but it’s obvious that the two soccer fields are the main purpose of the park. And as I researched the park’s history, I quickly learned I had to come back on Sunday to see “La Liga Latino Americana de Fútbol”. It’s a long-running (and apparently hardcore) semi-pro soccer league that plays every Sunday in the park. It’s filled with players from all over the globe, including Mexico, Bosnia, Eastern Europe, South America, Africa, and many other places (including the U.S.). Certain countries like Honduras even seem to have their own teams. So I came back on Sunday (pic 2), and it was so fun to walk around and see a completely international scene. Vendors sold Mexican food, ice cream carts wheeled around selling international treats, and scores of people set up tents and chairs to watch the matches that go on all day. I didn’t hear anyone speaking English (even the league’s website is in Spanish), but you could sense everyone’s passion for the sport and a warm sense of community. It was fun to just walk around and take in the sights and sounds. I love that we have stuff like this in St. Louis. #stlparks
  • Went on an Audubon walk this morning, and it was also my first time looking for birds in Carondelet Park. It was fantastic! However, I took over 150 shots (of over 30 species), and this is the only one I think is worthy of saving. But I learned SO much from #stl Audubon folks and this is the first time I landed a decent shot (I think) of a bird in flight. I gotta say... if you are a #historynerd and a #birdnerd, you can’t do better than be in St. Louis. 😊 #stlbirds #redtailedhawk
  • What do you do when you are left unsatisfied with the Downtown West #stl parks and birds? You head back to Tower Grove Park for another walk, find a Red-tailed Hawk’s nest (complete with chick), and all is well again. #stlbirds #stlparks #redtailedhawk
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