Fieldnotes
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On The Rocks
Killdeer (Charadrius vociferus). This one-footed stance is common among shore birds. Did somebody say vociferus? This quintet was silent, but in breeding season Killdeer can be loud! It’s Thanksgiving, time to remember what we have to be thankful for and stand on both our feet in defense of it. Let me convey my solidarity with…
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Raptor Wednesday
A Peregrine (Falco peregrinus) was perched atop the head of the statue of Justice atop Brooklyn’s Borough Hall when I emerged from the R train.The bird remained there as I made some copies, went to the Post Office, and returned to swing around to the chignon-side.Not all Justice is blind. We can see the neo-confederate…
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Bigleaf Maple
Acer macrophyllum is one big-leafed maple. Also known as Oregon Maple, these trees of the moist, shady canyons of the Coast Range can have leaves 9″ or more long. The leafstalk can be up to a foot long. Just wow! And, speaking of wow, check out this intersection of the great naturalist David George Haskell…
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Persistence
Harmonia axyridis on 5th Avenue. At this rate, why even bother taking shelter for the winter?On the contrary, let’s stay out all day and night… * In case you missed it in the hullabaloo over Hamilton, on Friday, the President Elect of the United States of American settled the fraud suit against him for his…
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The Chat of the Town
For more than two weeks now, a Yellow-breasted Chat has been haunting the northern side of Trinity Church graveyard in lower Manhattan, the side opposite musical-comedy star Alexander Hamilton’s grave. Chats are small, distinctive songbirds, their creamy yellow breasts contrasting sharply with their olive green tops. Bold white spectacle-like markings about the eyes jump out…
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Well, Hello Autumn!
A trio of female Northern Shovelers (Anas clypeata), the first I’ve seen this season, were on the never-more-appropriately named Sylvan Water. The water is all agleam with the late afternoon gold of the season. No filter, just the usual “Auto” setting on my camera. * A gold so much lovelier than the smears of gilt favored…
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Still Skipping
What a late, endless fall. This picture of a skipper was from last Friday, and there was at least one other of these quirky butterflies still working these amazingly productive ground-hugging buddleia. In case you haven’t noticed, I’m going full Thoreau in these posts. The inspiration for this blog was both a naturalist and a…
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Raptor Wednesday
Journey around an adult Red-tailed Hawk (Buteo jamaicensis). The bird flew low over a veritable herd of Golden-crowned Kinglets, more than I’ve ever seen before, scattering them hither and yon, before perching not so high off the ground. The brick-red tail of the year-old-plus bird shows very nicely in the sun here. Take heart: Bush…
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With a Wild Surmise
Tillamook Head was the southern-most reach along the Oregon coast of Lewis & Clark’s Corps of Discovery in 1806. Captain Clark came in search of a beached whale and called the view here “the grandest and most pleasing prospects which my eyes ever surveyed.”This is now Ecola State Park. The sea-stacks in the distance are…
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Setting Moon
About half an hour ago, the Moon set behind the Watchung Mountains of New Jersey. Thus was the view from my nest atop the Harbor Hill Moraine of Brooklyn, as mediated by my hand-held digital camera. The planets roll on. Meanwhile, here on Earth, Donald Trump has hired the white suprematist Steve Bannon as his…
Backyard and Beyond 