Fieldnotes
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Emergency Nature
The patch of red peaking out! The white patches on this one! Who says all birds (of a species) look the same? One more Golden-crowned Kinglet today from a patch of three four six, it was hard to tell. “Kinglet” for their crowns, but also, it seems to me when I see them come leap-flying…
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11/3/20
As this is a referendum on autocracy, I voted against fascism. People who vote for Trump after four years of Trump are voting for vicious, corrupt, irrational, monstrous authoritarianism. They are, through Fox-infected stupidity and/or white supremacist malignity, announcing themselves as fucking monsters enabling the dismemberment of American democracy. People who vote for a third…
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The Cache
For days now, a Red-bellied Woodpecker has been heard in the London plane tree across the street. The distinctive “quirrr!” announces his bird. But he doesn’t stay long. I hustled to the window with the camera a couple of times before just staking out the situation to catch these images. The bird is caching acorns…
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Some Moths
This pandemic year, I have spent an inordinate amount of time chasing little flutters arising erratically from the grass. By “chasing,” I mean inadvertently flushing a moth and then watching where it lands, usually close by. Above is a Velvetbean Caterpillar Moth (Anticarsia gemmatalis). The ubiquitous Green Cloverworm Moth (Hypena scabra), posed against some Orange…
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Raptor Wednesday
The bagpiper had just finished practicing, so the peace and quiet and nature sounds I came for were again all around me. The call of an American Kestrel had me scanning the skies. This bird flew up to the top of this conifer and, as I got some lens on the situation, I saw that…
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Gall-y
Here’s another gall for your collection: Cypress Twig Gall Midge (Taxodiomyia cupressiananassa). Affects Bald and Pond Cypresses. I like how they almost kinda look like the cones. *** Yesterday, Trump mafia family members Ivanka and Jared tweeted that they were sending in their mail-in ballots, just hours after Trump railed again against mail-in balloting once…
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Red-backed Salamander
I’ve known about salamanders in Brooklyn for a while now, but this Eastern Red-backed (Plethodon cinereus) I ran into this week was the first I’ve seen personally. What is the story here? How have they managed to survive in the midst of all this? True, this one was in as woodsy a place as you…
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Recent Birds
So you got twice your recommended daily natural supplement yesterday because I accidentally scheduled two posts for the same time. Guess I’m going to pile on this morning…This foot looks like it may be infected. Tiny piece of wet grass on a tiny bill. Hunting so intently didn’t mind me sitting nearby. Tombstones are closer…
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Persimmon Attractants
Insect life is winding down. But on a brisk Saturday morning, I spotted some activity around fallen persimmon fruit. Blue Blowflies and Vespula yellowjackets… Downy Yellowjacket. (First one for me, and my fourth Vespula species in Brooklyn.) German Yellowjacket. Green-Wood’s tiny grove of American persimmon took a hit in the big storm, losing some substantial…
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Raptor Wednesday
This is, approximately, what the chapel looks like from the road. The point here is that the female American Kestrel up there saw a two-inch long grasshopper on the road and swept down to pluck it right up. She flew back up to the chapel top to dispatch it. Same bird, nearby. Further afield in…
Backyard and Beyond 