mthew
-
Twins
MACRO: A Planet To Win: Why We Need a Green New Deal “It is clear the political establishment is collapsing in the United States and beyond. Clinging to it makes it possible for reactionaries like Trump to gain more ground the world over and brings climate catastrophe closer. The fundamental issue is this: As the…
-
Oaks to Caterpillars to Birds
The National Wildlife Foundation has a county-level guide, the Native Plant Finder, to native plants that support caterpillars. Why caterpillars? Because they are esentially the foundation of the food chain for song birds. Even the seedeaters that come to your feeders for seeds and suet in winter feed their young caterpillars. Caterpillars are relatively soft…
-
Water Bugs and Birds
Under a thin layer of ice, two true bugs in the Crescent Water. The first is a water boatman, the second a backswimmer. Not all of the pond was iced over. Aerators keep donut holes of water ice-free, and the edge along one side of the pond was also open. This Eastern Phoebe was making…
-
Breeding Birds
The third edition of the New York State Breeding Bird Atlas project is underway. So far I’ve submitted observations to ebird of American Kestrels mating and Common Ravens carrying nesting material. One of them, anyway. I almost always hear these big corvids before I see them. One of their most common calls is a “ha-rupp”…
-
I’m Easy Lichen Sunday Morning…
When hunting lichens, it’s important to blend in. Stalking wild Lecanoromycetes is made all the easier by wearing appropriate camouflage. Lichens are slow, but they can see you coming. Glad to see the professionals agree! Back in December, my partner Molly and I discovered a very rare-for-the-city Usnea lichen. When another Usnea genus lichen was…
-
A Grab-Bag of Wintery Sights
In a not very wintery winter.* A moth to be here, found on the underside of a piece of bark shed by the tree. (This is the outer side of the bark, but it was upside down on the ground.) Another moth (I think) cocooned on a shingle oak leaf. A mess o’ mantids. This…
Backyard and Beyond 