Westport loves its ospreys.
One osprey loves Westport back.
Julie Loparo of Westport Animal Shelter Advocates posted a video on social media of yesterday’s team rescue.
An osprey became snared in a braided cotton line, on top of a piling off Saugatuck Shores.
A Fire Department crew from Engine Company 4 arrived, with a ladder. Lieutenant Joe Arnson held it, as Animal Control Officer Peter Reid climbed up to cut the line off the raptor’s talons.
Arnson then released the handsome bird, who flew off, once again free.
After the rescue, the line was removed from the piling.
Osprey rescue underway. (Screenshot courtesy of Julie Loparo)
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The September issue of The Atlantic features a compelling story.
“Seventy Miles in Hell” recounts the harrowing 70-mile journey that nearly a million people have made in the past several years through the Darién Gap, from Colombia into Panama.
Men women and children come from Haiti, Ethiopia, India, Congo, Brazil, Peru, Ecuador and Venezuela, heading north across the only strip of land that connects South America to Central America, hoping they live long enough to reach the US.
Writer Caitlin Dickerson made the trek herself, accompanied by photographer Lynsey Addario.
Those photos — from the 1991 Staples High School graduate who has won both Pulitzer Prizes and a MacArthur “genius” grant — add immeasurably to Dickerson’s powerful prose.
Click here for the story. (Hat tip: Rosalie Wolf)
Migrants wait to board canoes, the next step in their journey. (Photo/Lynsey Addario, for The Atlantic)
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“The Greatest Showman” is being adapted for the stage.
The latest news from the songwriting team of Pasek & Paul — which includes Justin Paul, a 2003 Staples High School graduate — was highlighted at the D:23 fan festival in Anaheim.
The event included this video:
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Since COVID, many Westporters have discovered Sherwood Island.
(For those who haven’t: Connecticut’s first state park sits smack in the middle of our shoreline. It’s 238 acres of beaches, wetlands, woods, walking paths, a Nature Center — even a model airplane runway.)
Many Westporters also help keep the park shipshape, as volunteers with Friends of Sherwood Island.
They raise money in part through a great annual fundraiser. This year’s Shorefest is September 6 (6 to 9 p.m., Sherwood Island pavilion). It features dinner and a silent auction.
Dinner options include lobster, tenderloin, salmon or vegetarian, plus steamers, corn, salad and dessert ($100 before September 1; $120 after). A children’s menu ($15) includes hot dog or hamburger, corn, salad and dessert.
Click here for tickets, or send a check to Friends of Sherwood Island State Park, PO Box 544, Westport, CT 06881.
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Yesterday’s “Question Box” included this from David Squires: Where is the highest elevation in Westport?
I had always heard it’s Tower Ridge, next to the Aspetuck Health District and Westport Astronomical Society observatory on Bayberry Lane.
Nope.
Alert “06880” reader Chris Grimm found a website called “Peakbagger.” Its page of Connecticut Town High Points cites Westport’s “West Catamount Hill.”
For the record, it’s 284 feet (87 meters) above sea level.
West Catamount Hill (Topographical map courtesy of Peakbagger)
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“Remi’s Run for Parker’s Cure” is a colorful community event, for a great cause.
The morning of fun, fitness and philanthropy is set for Sunday, August 25 (10 a.m. to noon, PJ Romano Field track).
The color run is part of Remi Rutstein’s bat mitzvah project. It’s dedicated to her cousin Parker, who is battling a rare genetic brain disorder known as HIST1H1E.
Participants — grouped by age — will run or walk around the track, while being splashed with colorful, non-toxic powders. By the end of the run, everyone is a living rainbow.
The fun also includes breakfast from Lyfe Café, a candy truck, sports and games, tattoos, a DJ, and plenty of surprises.
Remi says the event is a way for Westporters to come together and celebrate Parker, raise awareness, and contribute to the search for a cure.
The event is free, but donations are welcome. Click here to register, and for more information and contributions.
PS: Volunteers are welcome (and needed!). To help, email megan@westportmoms.com.
Remi Rutstein (right) and Parker.
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Pigeons are well known for living all over New York City.
But they like the suburbs too.
At the Westport Library a few days before leaving for college (in New York state), Jay Babina snapped today’s “Westport … Naturally” photo.
It looks almost majestic.
(Photo/Jay Babina)
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And finally … in honor of the definitive answer to Westport’s highest point (story above):
(“06880” kicks off a new week, with another Roundup chock full of events, news you can use, and random factoids. If you enjoy this daily feature, please click here to support our work. Thank you!)
The Bible’s description of the Temple in Jerusalem mentioned it had pigeon spikes. I guess the dove’s relative didn’t get respect even then.
God bless people like Peter Reid and all the Westport firefighters who go above and beyond to help animals in distress
To everyone in Westport please be thankful of these people
That are true angels
Thank you, Peter and Joe…chilling photo, wonderful rescue.