This Bronx Island is for the Birds!

It's always nice when you read a
story about the government helping birds!

South Brother Island,
Originally uploaded by RickyOcean

This Bronx island is for the birds.
One of the last privately owned islands around its shoreline was bought by the city last week with $2million in federal dollars secured by Rep. Jose Serrano (D-Bronx).
South Brother Island, once the summer home of an owner of the Yankees, sits in the East River, a half mile off the shore of Hunts Point.
Never developed, the 7-acre wooded property has become a haven for birds and other wildlife. This summer, just across from the jailbirds on Rikers, 1,000 birds and 2,000 chicks nested on the island.
"It's a wonderful day to buy an island," Serrano said. "This urban treasure will now be preserved as a resource for our children and grandchildren."
In the past, the island's larger twin, North Brother Island, which has a one-time quarantine hospital, has received most of the attention, but legend says South Brother, once owned by Col. Jacob Ruppert of Yankees fame, has just as curious a history. Babe Ruth supposedly spent his off days swatting balls into the East River from Ruppert's island.
As the largest wading bird colony in New York Harbor, the island is home to the great egret, double-crested cormorant, snowy egret and the black-crowned night heron.
"That it happens to be in the South Bronx, in the middle of busy shipping lanes, makes it even more miraculous," Rivera said.

Read the full story here :)

Thanks Rick!