Fieldnotes
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Pandion haliaetus
Ospreys have begun to return to Brooklyn and on Sunday we had our first sightings of the year: a pair already well into breeding festivities. The sun’s in the way, but you can just see a fish here under this female’s right foot. As she fed, the male went off fishing for sticks. He picked some…
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Some Trees
Glove-like leaf coming off a new Tulip Tree (Liriodendron tulipifera) bud.A very sprouty old Quercus.Same, in situ.Salix catkins and baby leaves showering 6th Avenue.
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Kestrels, Kestrels, We’ve Got Kestrels!
Male Falco sparverius at Floyd Bennett Field, where the grasslands, currently mown, can often be a good place to see this most common of NYC raptors. This one is particularly painterly with those spots (and the cloudy day).Here is a female, farther away from the camera. Her wings don’t have the blue of the male…
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Blue-winged Teal
A drake Blue-winged Teal (Anas discors). Surely one of the most handsome of all ducks.The species is a long-distance migrant, some heading deep down into South America. They’re also early birds, one of the first to arrive and the first to leave. I rarely see them in NYC.Here’s the hen. The pair were dabbling in…
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BBC: G-W
Great turn-out for this morning’s Brooklyn Bird Club walk in Green-Wood. A dozen birders and 32 bird species. We had great views of bright, vocalizing Pine warblers, the first I’ve seen of the year; Cedar Waxwings hawking right in front of us; a male Kestrel plucking what looked like a sparrow; six Fish Crows harrying…
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Formula
Catkin + glove = early spring. P.S. Tomorrow I’ll be leading a Brooklyn Bird Club walk in Green-Wood Cemetery. We will be on the look-out for early migrants and active year-’rounders. We’ll start at 8 a.m. at the neo-gothic gates at 25th Street and 5th Avenue. Everybody’s welcome and it’s free. Bring binoculars.
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American Kestrel
Falco sparverius male. The blue wings sex the bird.Hunting amidst the strollers at the NYBG. Came up empty-taloned from a pass into the stubble, just some wisps of grass. With his head turned here, you can see the two black patches on the back of his head. These are ocelli, or false eyes. The standard…
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Patriotic Oystercatchers
American Oystercatchers (Haematopus palliatus) are starting to appear on the coast. Here’s a pair from the weekend.Local nesters, they make nests on beaches and dunes, which isn’t so good, considering beach crowds, unleashed dogs, four-wheeled vehicles (not at DHB, tho’) and other slings and arrows.
Backyard and Beyond 