mthew

One, two, three, four… was it five? Black-capped Chickadees bathed one after another at this leafy backwater of Valley Water recently.

After two weeks without a Cooper’s Hawk sighting, this one on March 22nd. There has been some local breeding of Coopers in the last few years, but most of our winter birds head elsewhere during the breeding season. This female American Kestrel was not as pleased by the sighting as I was. This is Kestrel…

Another Osprey flyby at Valley Water. This time the bird didn’t even circle, just dropped into a steep dive… And scored! Looks like the prey this time is an Amur Carp. This bird is also banded, maybe the same one? Anyway, the Osprey(s) are sure working on the invasive species problem… This passing Red-tailed Hawk…

First I spot the male in his usual hunting grounds. It was kind of cool for lizards, but… The female showed up calling for action. Remarkably quickly, the male delivered her a lizard. I didn’t. couldn’t, see him catch it, and wonder, actually, if he had it cached somewhere. I lost sight of both birds…

My second sighting of an Osprey this year was like the first, at Valley Water, only I was closer and the light was much better. This one is banded, but those federal bands are pretty hard to read unless the bird is in hand. In years past, Osprey nesting in Jamaica Bay Wildlife Refuge were…

I will be leading a couple of my famous insect tours in Green-Wood Cemetery on May 17th and 18th. The 18th is a walk specifically for kids. Green-Wood charges for these tours (and pays me). My Bugging Out events often sell-out, so reserve early. On June 14th, I will be leading an insect and the…

Over an hour and a half last Saturday, we observed the Kestrels mating three times. This second time was the most spectacular from our cameras’ point of view. According to my camera clock, this particular copulation lasted 8 seconds. About 20 minutes later, the male captured a Northern Italian Wall Lizard. Which he then gave…