mthew
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Raptor Wednesday
Crows harrying a Red-tailed Hawk. Not too much later, two Red-tails were in the same tree. Then four of them were in the air together. Another day of crow patrol. Nest building in a pine. Copulating on a cross. These might not be the same birds as the ones building the nest. Yes, this is…
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Turkey Tuesday
We’re seeing more Black Vultures as they spread north, but, in general, the vulture overhead around here is still most likely to be a Turkey Vulture. This is one of a couple who were passing over Green-Wood recently. In the last photo, see how the sliver/white back end of the wing feathers stretch from the…
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Best Way To Start The Week
Eye WIDE open. Wings spread. Tail cocked. Now go, cat, go! So many possibilities.
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Springing
Trembling aspen. Silver maple. Hoop-petticoat daffodil. American Elm. We had a couple warm days, then it got cold again. Now it’s warming up again. Today is the second day of spring. Let it bloom! Let it boom!
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Passenger
A Song Sparrow with what looks like a tick attached to the side of the eye. There are a few (at least) Ixodes genus bird ticks. I wrote about the “flying zoo” here.
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The Arthropods Are Coming
There are places where the ground is crawling with what I think are thin-legged wolf spiders. Centipede scurrying from the light. Small Milkweed Bug was an unexpected find on a 42F day. Mantis egg case. Found four here.
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Tufted and Chrysalis
The tapping and pecking of various birds in the winter stillness grabs the ears. The woodpeckers, the nuthatches. And in this case, a Tufted Titmouse. I didn’t have time to get focused because the bird dropped its prize, which I first thought might be a peanut, and flew away. But it was a cocoon! And,…
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Raptor Wednesday
A not uncommon sight from the apartment windows this winter. Although the last few weeks have seen scant evidence of this male American Kestrel. But here he was March 8 as the Staten Island Ferry, Big Orange to those of us on the moraine, goes by. Then, last Thursday, March 11, the pair! American Kestrels…
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Timberdoodle Tuesday
The cinnamon belly of an American Woodcock is one of the great delights of the world. Hard to see, though.
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Mammal Monday
In abstentia… Rodent jaws. Coin is an inch across. Same, with the teeth pulled out. They come out rather easily. These were found amid the ruins of some owl pellets. Owls swallow prey whole and then spit up the gnarly bits. Considering how clean these bones are, those are some serious digestive juices. A mess…
Backyard and Beyond 