mthew

Photographs taken the same day. There is about a mile distance between these two spots. Is this the same pair? I don’t think so. The pairs both have great fidelity to their territory.

All seen since October 31.

Squirrel in the hole! The base of this huge beech spreads all over the place, as shallow-rooted beeches are wont to do, and the convolution here makes for a cavity that fills with water. Voila! A watering-hole.

“Other steps must be taken, both for the immediate security of the lives and property of the present generation, and for the prevention of yet greater and remoter evils which are inevitable unless means to obviate them are found before it is forever too late.” George Perkins Marsh, writing in Man and Nature, published in…

A Wavy Mucksucker (Orthonevra nitida) spotted on Governors Island last week. Very distinctive eye-pattern. Not the wetlands habitat you’d expect this, by the way, but always expect the unexpected when it comes to insects. Last Saturday, a cold front finally brought in day-time temperatures below 50F. The season of insects is passing. Temperatures rose again on…

Temperatures edged up to 70 last week and the Autumn Meadowhawks were out in force. Yesterday, after several chilly days with no sign of these little red beasts, it got into the high 60s. One or two were spotted again. Speaking of red beasts, here’s this morning’s lunar eclipse. A car alarm outside the apartment…

Bald-faced Hornet (Dolichovespula maculata) nests in Green-Wood are being revealed by the falling leaves. I’ve walked under these all summer without noticing them.

So, yes, seeing Cooper’s Hawks a lot these days. One day last week, I had three sightings, of two different birds (at least). No picture of the last encounter, but I was hearing some Blue Jays yelling bloody murder, when suddenly a Coop sliced low over the buildings and a female American Kestrel went after…