mthew

Once in late August and once in late September, I came across a Merlin in this European Beech. Here’s my once-in-late-October sighting. The tree happens to be a favorite American Kestrel perch as well. At precisely the same time as my October Merlin-in-the-Beech sighting, there was a female American Kestrel atop the chapel, approximately 250…

Sassafras. . A couple of Black Tupelos. (They make ’em bright in the trade.) Swamp White Oak The hazy pink of a grass.

November 3rd, mid 40sF. Very little is still in bloom, but these late asters still provide food.

In March, 2022, I noticed some fallen Pignut/Carya glabra wood under a venerable tree. A rotted limb had fallen and broken into pieces. There was a little jewel in there. The other day I returned. The wood was still there. It’s a well-managed cemetery: they usually clear away such fallen wood and brush, but this…

From Gerard Manley Hopkins’ feverish poem, we know that “Windhover” is an old name for the Common Kestrel/Falco tinnunculus because of their characteristic tendency to hover. Above is one hovering over the Nothumberland Coast Path. American Kestrels/Falco sparverius do this as well, although perhaps not as much. Here’s another Common K, from Falsterbo, Sweden. The…

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A couple late October Eastern Carpenter Bees/Xylocopa virginica.