mthew
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Marsh
“Some enthusiastic entomologist will, perhaps, by and by discover that insects and worms are as essential as the larger organisms to the proper working of the great terraqueous machine […] The silkworm and the bee need no apologist; a gallnut produced by the puncture of an insect on a Syrian oak is a necessary ingredient…
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Tree, Mushroom, Bird
Woodpeckers have unusually stiff tail feathers. A broken branch of a wizened paper birch. I wonder if the bird knows to follow the mushrooms to the weakest wood? Seems a good bet. Remind me to take another look soon to see if this hole gets bigger.
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Raven
My first good look at a Common Raven this year, the sixth year I’ve been watching them here in Brooklyn. Sure, I hear them occasionally, and see them from a distance, but this was relatively close. This one landed with some food high up in a tree. The bird’s feathers are ready for molt! The…
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Waiting
Last May, this little hillock was abuzz with cellophane bees. Their dirt mound nests were all over the place, and the bees themselves were thick in the air. The next generation is in here now. Four more months to go! Took these photos yesterday, just before the inauguration. Not far away was a Persian ironwood…
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Raptor Wednesday
Red-tailed Hawk in tuliptree. Cooper’s Hawk coming in. The Cooper’s kept a sharp eye on the larger hawk. The latter flew away and was followed by the Coop to another tuliptree some 75 yards away. Then they returned back to the original tuliptree, so as I was making my way thataway they passed me by…
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Nuts
These two Dark-eyed Juncos were underneath a hickory tree that was absolutely littered with pieces of nut. A couple of Black-capped Chickadees were doing the same. Elsewhere: a similar hickory smorgasbord. I supposed squirrels make these messes. There’s still a lot of nut meat here. Not sure what this one is working on. Wing of…
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Mammal Monday
Dead raccoon’s back foot. Exterior wanted in. Interior didn’t want the exterior inside. Exterior got in. Lots of squabbling in the trees now, two three four five squirrels racing up and down, leaping between trees. I saw two squirrels fall recently, one from about eight feet in a squirrel-tussle and one from even higher as…
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A Visitation of Grackles, Part II
This one landed in a sidewalk tree and then came down to the sidewalk in front of us. And went for a snack! Too fast and too close to get focused on. Something flavored with orange cheese product, perhaps? Junk food is junk food, whoever eats it.
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A Visitation of Grackles, Part I
A flock suddenly appeared the other day right outside the apartment. They stuck around for a couple of hours. Here are various members of the group. Yes, snacks were had. A malfunctioning gutter is a standby bathing and drinking spot for the local Starlings, House Sparrows, and Mourning Doves. The Grackles put it to use,…
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Scars, Buds, Etc.
What Core and Ammons in their handy Woody Plants in Winter call the “downy line across the top” of the leaf scar of a butternut (Juglans cinerea). The tawny suede-looking thing up there. Mustache-like, but at the top, or outer edge of the scar. Now, here’s the genus-mate eastern black walnut (Juglans nigra) for comparison.…
Backyard and Beyond 