April 2014
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Texas Birds I
Black-bellied Whistling Duck (Dendrocygna autumnalis).Olive Sparrow (Arremonops rufivirgatus)Least Grebe (Tachybaptus dominicus).Chihuahua Raven (Corvus cryptoleucus).White-winged Dove (Zenaida asiatica) and Common Ground Dove (Columbina passerina).Red-crowned Parrot (Amazona virdigenalis).Bronzed Cowbird (Molothrus aeneus).Ringed Kingfisher (Megaceryle torquata).Crested Caracara (Caracara cheriway).
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For Roger Tory Peterson
“A golden bird of wooded swamps.” — RTP on the Prothonatary Warbler (Protonotaria citrea), photographed in the Ravine yesterday in Prospect Park.Yesterday was the 80th anniversary of the first publication of Roger Tory Peterson’s A Field Guide to the Birds. Now, I don’t doubt that humans have been watching birds since we’ve been humans, and…
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Basking Turtles
A pile-up of turtles. But not all of these are Red-eared Sliders (Trachemys scripta elegans), which dominate the waters in Prospect Park. If you look closely, you’ll notice one of the shells is rather smoother than the others, and, although out of focus, its red highlights on the underside sing out “Painted Turtle” (Chrysemys picta).Here’s…
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Owl Ranch
San Migeulito Ranch is all owl, no cattle. A dozen miles from anywhere in Kenedy Co., and down a treacherously sandy road — we got stuck, as predicted, and needed a pickup to pull and five of us stout-hearted lads to push (this is when I think I picked up my tick and my chiggers,…
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The Rio Grande Valley
I had some odd preconceptions of the Rio Grande/Rio Bravo del Norte. For one, I thought it would be wider. Here we are downstream of Falcon Dam, about 100 miles from the river’s mouth. That’s Mexico on the right.Now looking upstream, with the U.S. on the right. I also thought this indefinite border would be…
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Heron v. Fish
A Green Heron (Butorides virescens) was wrestling with a big fish it had caught today at the Upper Pool. I’ve seen other herons/egrets and cormorants working on big fish before. You hardly imagine they will be able to swallow their prey, but they almost always do. This must be enough food for the day.I saw…
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Nesting
I’m sure you can recognize these common nesting birds in Brooklyn right now. Meanwhile, our under-bridge pigeon nest is proceeding apace:
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Notes for Further Reading and Doing
Reading: Rob Jett’s ebook The Red-tailed Hawk Journals: A City Birder in Brooklyn is now available. Rob has been documenting the Red-tails of Brooklyn for more than a decade and tells how he first came to these adventures. It’s a great story. Liam Heneghan has written a fine essay on the #1000UrbanMiles project he instigated.…
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Audubon Part II
The second of three John James Audubon exhibits is up at the New-York Historical Society. These are the original watercolors JJA did for his printer in England. Go! (I snapped a few details before being busted by museum security; since I wasn’t using a flash, I thought it would be ok.)It was a curious experience…
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Snow Goose
A Snow Goose (Chen caerulescens) was on Prospect Lake today. They are not uncommon in Jamaica Bay during the winter months, but don’t visit interior Brooklyn very often. Among the most abundant waterfowl on the continent, Snow Geese are often seen in huge numbers on fallow fields and wetlands.
Backyard and Beyond 