mthew
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Nesting
Green Heron (Butorides virescens) sitting on eggs out over the water. It rare to see Barn Swallows (Hirundo rustica) on the ground. These were stuffing their bills full of mud for their cup nests. Talk about the importance of varied habitats and general all-around messiness! This is a patch where the stone border of the…
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Snout’s Up
Small-to-medium-sized Snapping Turtle (Chelydra serpentina) peeking from the Duckweed and algae atop the perhaps deceptively named Lullwater in Prospect today. Update: On second thought, and thoughtful suggestion, this is probably just another Red-eared Slider. All that yellow in the chin wouldn’t be on a Snapping T.
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NYC WildFlower Week
Woodland Poppy (Stylophorum diphyllum), a.k.a. Celandine Poppy. Last day of NYCWFW, with three events.
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NYC Wildflower Week: Golden Alexanders
Zizia aurea. Check out the “faunal associations,” the animals that pollinate, eat, breed on, etc., listed on this species account: bees, wasps, butterflies, true bugs…. Blooming now. NYCWFW.
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NYC Wildflower Week: Spiderwort
Tradescantia, whose common name is another of those not-quite lost to history ones: the sap on a cut stem becomes thready, like spider silk. There are two species which readily hybridize. We think this is T. ohiensis. Blooming now and into July. NYCWFW.
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Turtlenecks
The all too-common Red-eared Slider (Trachemys scripta). Note those neck line patterns. On the same day, close by, was this specimen. This one differs by having the yellow line go up past its eye.And by having an oval shape on the neck. Missing, too, is the red stripe behind the eyes which give Red-eareds their…
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NYC Wildflower Week: Geranium
Geranium maculatum “Espresso” or Wild Geranium, cultivated for espresso-colored leaves. NYCWFW. All over Brooklyn Bridge Park’s Pier 1 now.
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Raptor Wednesday
Red-tailed hawk on the Brooklyn Museum.Another atop the American Museum of Natural History.
Backyard and Beyond 