mthew

Long-tailed Ducks/Clangula hyemalis off the Rockaway Peninsula. It’s the male who has the long tail: This is the duck formerly known as the Oldsquaw. The AOU formally changed the name in 2000. Very much a diving duck.

In metal, etc., attached to fence by antenna. Artist unknown. (Typing “metal butterfly art” into ye olde search engine resulted in some gawd-awful stuff, but I like this.)

Not a single Tufted Titmouse was seen in Brooklyn during the day of the 2023 Christmas Bird Count. There was at least one spotted during the week surrounding the CBC, though, and I saw this one, in Green-Wood, a couple of weeks beforehand.

Knobbed Whelk/Busycon carica and Channeled Whelk/Busycotypus canaliculatus side-by-side. I usually see more Channeled around here, but Recently at Jacob Riis Beach, the Knobbed predominated.

New Year’s Day began with a Peregrine atop Mike’s Spike. Photographed here from two long avenues and two typical street blocks away.Then I looked again and saw a smaller falcon up there, likely an American Kestrel but possibly a Merlin. On the way to Staten Island, I spotted a Peregrine on the Verrazano Narrows Bridge,…

Here’s one. Here’s two. Both in the same tree: Happy New Year! Another pass: this time I got those searchlight eyes on me.

Details of Tatiana Arocha‘s large work at the new Sunset Park Library branch of BPL. Happy New Year’s Eve!

From far off, I thought this American Crow might have an egg, which seemed off for December. Now it looks like something else entirely, but what?