April 2016
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O You’ve Got Green Lores
The space between the eye and nostril of a bird is known as the lore. During breeding season, the lores of Great Egrets (Ardea alba) turn an iridescent green.
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Don’t Know Jack?
Spathe and spadix: Jack-in-the-Pulpit (Arisaema triphyllum), a plant with many other names, including Bog Onion. I’ve never come across so many. Unfortunately, they were off the boardwalk, so I could not lift their hoods to check out their engines.
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Squirrel Pile
You didn’t think I was going to let you get away with just one picture of the baby Gray Squirrel Pile, did you?
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Right Now
Redbud Cercis canadensis.Hawthorn (Crataegus)Dogwood (Cornus)Bloodroot (Sanguinaria canadensis), after flowering.Bellwort (Uvularia grandiflora).
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What a Great Swamp!
I missed the emergence of Skunk Cabbage this year. Here’s some of the mature, cabbagy leaves as they look now. The time-travelling internet, however, can take us back to a previous year’s sprouting. It seems as if everything happens at once during spring. At Great Swamp NWR recently, we saw and heard so much it…
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Hashtag This
WNYC is running a #wildnyc project, urging listeners to submit photos or audio of wild animals and plants discovered in the city. The basic idea is that folks send in images and our panel of experts help them identify the thing. Some submitters already know they’ve got, of course. I’ve been deputized to help out…
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3 Turtle Species
Spotted (Clemmys guttata).Painted (Chrysemys picta).Snapping (Chelydra serpentina). All on the same day at Great Swamp. There were two Snappers, the pictured one being enormous; a dozen Painted; and half-a-dozen Spotted. I am most enamored of the Spotted. Here’s another:
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Odds & Ends
A Red-throated Loon (Gavia stellata) was in Prospect Park for a while last week. This was an unusual sighting for the Lake; usually these birds are seen off-shore. This may be explained by the bird not being in good shape: lots of people only ever saw it sleeping like this, with bill tucked into wing.…
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Bugs At Last!
You’ve been waiting patiently all winter long for some serious insect life to liven things up. This was the week! Two color variations of the Spotted Lady Beetle (Coleomegilla maculata).These are in the Coccinellidae family of ladybugs, but clearly not the usual rounded shape of the classic VW. Sure are spotty, though: another common name…
Backyard and Beyond 