mthew

The loons are usually further out, but here in Coney Island Creek with the low morning sun behind me, this Common was looking good. Further around the bend of Sea Gate, this Red-throated turned out to the only one I saw on my scramble around the far western “private beach” end of Coney Island. This…

Sometimes the claw is the only evidence. This is from one of the rock crab family, I think. Asian Shore Crab (Hemigrapsus sanguineus). Another tentative ID. Atlantic Blue Crab (Callinectes sapidus). Flat-clawed Hermit (Pagurus pollicaris). (Gave this one its own post.)

Former landfill, that is. Scenes from Shirley Chisholm State Park in winter. At least two female American Kestrels were hovering in search of prey. A sunnier day, from across low-tide Hendrix Creek.

A third to half of an Atlas Cedar (Cedrus atlantica) cone. Take off on of the scales… To reveal two of the winged seeds.

A Yew. Screaming Blue Jays. A couple of frozen Gray Squirrels. Plenty of clues…

Long-time readers may know that my most popular blog post ever was about these whelk egg cases. We have two types in the upper Mid-Atlantic and the Northeast. The pinched edges of these capsules mean this it the egg case of the Channeled Whelk/Busycotypus canaliculatus. Here’s one of the capsules separated from the chain. Often…

Phragmites are notorious for taking over and turning everything into Phragmites, leaving little room for other plants and the hosts of other organisms that live with those plants. One exception is whatever it is that attracts Downy Woodpeckers to the winter stalks. Somebody is living in there, and this small woodpecker is determined to chisel…

This is, I think, a Fish Crow/Corvus ossifragus.