Fieldnotes
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Stag Beetle
A Common or Reddish-Brown Stag Beetle (Lucanus capreolus) male who didn’t make it. Found on the sidewalk next to Prospect Park. This specimen is about an inch long. Inhabitants of parks, suburbs, and hardwood forests, they’re mostly nocturnal. They feed on sap; those pincer-like mandibles are used to battle other males for territory. Dudes. A wonderful…
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Fledgling
Here’s a variation on a common sight: a young Mourning Dove (Zenaida macroura). Note how much darker it is than an adult. You might almost want to make it another species, although there aren’t really any other options on this end of the country.
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Out of the Sun
A Raccoon (Procyon lotor) was sprawled out on the second story fire-escape of my building’s inner courtyard yesterday. The critter probably found the shade most welcome on a hot day. It’s no tree cavity out there, true, but real estate is a bear in this borough. The animal was snoozing, as they are wont to…
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Flickering
We’ve been lucky enough to catch the changing of the guard at this Northern Flicker (Colaptes auratus) nest a couple of times. Parent flies to hole, perching outside. Other parent bird flies out. First parent scoots in hole.That black mark, the malar, on the cheek means this is the male. He spends a minute looking…
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Nessus Sphinx
Perching covertly: Nessus Sphinx (Amphion floridness). When I first saw it, my thought was Cicada Killer Wasp. The Peterson guide says this day-flying moth is common throughout its range — the northeast to Virginia, across the midwest — but I think this is the first I’ve seen it.
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Ladybugs!
Convergent Ladybugs (Hippodamia convergens) uh, um, converging. This year’s aphid boom needs more lady beetles!Fourteen-Spotted Ladybug (Propylea quatuordecimpunctata).This looks like a variation of the Multicolored Asian Ladybug larva (Harmonia axyridis). These last two were spotted in Flatbush Gardener’s patch during the C-9 release.
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Heather’s Birds
My friend Heather Wolf’s Birding At The Bridge has just been published. This handsome volume detail’s Heather’s adventures watching and photographing birds in Brooklyn Bridge Park over the course of a couple of years. BBP is where I first ran into Heather. She was carrying her long lens, which is what you really need to…
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JBWR
Jamaica Bay Wildlife Refuge bakes in the summer sun, with only a few shady areas in the north and south “gardens” along the eastern edge of the West Pond trail, but there is so much wildlife activity out there right now it’s worth putting on a big hat and lots of sun-screen. I’ve been…
Backyard and Beyond 