Nature in the Concrete Jungle COLUMBIA UNIVERSITY - SIPA Admissions Blog

Nature in the Concrete Jungle COLUMBIA UNIVERSITY - SIPA Admissions Blog After a torrential thunderstorm I was treated to a rather spectacular sight the other day in midtown Manhattan.   Check it out The sun shining through the trees is actually a reflection of the sun off of a building.   The picture was taken facing the east but with so many glass buildings in the city reflections put on quite a light show at times.   The concrete jungle has its share of natural surprises if you keep your eyes open.   I captured this fabulous picture on my bike ride into work one day last fall. I was following my normal route along the bike path on the west side of Manhattan and I noticed a rather large, moving object out of the corner of my eye.   I glanced over and saw a huge bird swooping into a tree.   The bird landed on a branch stump only about 10 feet off of the ground and I slammed on my brakes and looped back.   If you look closely, you will see that a decent sized rat is firmly in the claw of the bird. There is a decent Red-tailed hawk population in NYC and just the other day I spotted another one on the campus quad.   Nature is present even in a city dominated by man.