mthew
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The Buzz
For a number of plants, including such delicious Solanaceae (nightshades) as tomatoes, potatoes, tomatillos, eggplant, and peppers, the frequency of a bumblebee’s buzzing is what releases pollen. The bumble grabs ahold of the anthers and vibrates the pollen loose. Honeybees, who get more credit they they deserve, don’t do this; they pick up exposed pollen, but…
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Raptor Wednesday
A Northern Mockingbird buzzing the apex of this church on 4th Avenue and 8th Street made me glad we were at a stoplight. And had a “raptor roof” (what I believe is known to the trade as a moonroof). For there was an American Kestrel up there. At the end of June, I had a…
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Overrun
A tremendous crashing in the wetland thickets to our left brought forth this buck. He leaped into the meadow trailing phragmites from his rack. Note that the animal is tagged [#326?]; looks like this means he was given a vasectomy in an effort to cut Staten Island’s White-tailed Deer (Odocoileus virginianus) population.This was at Mount…
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Quiscalus quiscula
Another day, another Common Grackle youngster being served up a moth for lunch. Note how the young bird’s plumage lacks the iridescence of the mature bird, and is a drab gray rather than blue-black, except in the tail feathers. (That’s plastic tarp they’re hanging out on, laid down to smother phragmites.) This, about a remarkably…
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Ebony Jewelwing
Flying moth-like on broad dark wings, their abdomens metallic green or blue, depending on the light, Calopteryx maculata are probably the most recognizable of our damselflies.Males are pictured above. These and the females below were spotted around the Cross River in the Ward Pound Ridge Reserve in Westchester County. I’ve not seen them in NYC*.The…
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Storm King
Storm King Arts Center is a large outdoor sculpture gallery. However, we went specifically for the tall grass meadows. And were they lush and fecund:The top left tip of this Calder had a singing Eastern Bluebird on it.
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Tree Chipper
We usually see Eastern Chipmunks on the ground, but this is your periodical reminder that they’re fine tree-climbers. That’s how they predate bird nests. This one is about 15 feet up. Cheeks bulging with chow.
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Mystery Sign
A living creature is behind this paw-like pattern, a shadow thrown through water. What do you think is going on here? (Your answers will be posted later today, along with a picture of the culprit.) Voila! Hey thanks for playing! Most you were in the right place; a shadow cast by a water strider, in…
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Cross River Crawdaddies
Decapoda use their tails to scoot backwards underwater. This one actually back-jetted into Karl’s hands. (It was returned unharmed, if discombobulated by all the media attention.)Cross River, running through Ward Pound Ridge Reservation, is a-crawling with crayfish. This was one of the smaller ones. The others were much less red. Perhaps this one had just…
Backyard and Beyond 