Fieldnotes
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The Temp is Too Damn High
It’s getting so that “unseasonable” is no longer an appropriate word for never-ending autumn. This is the new seasonableness. On Friday, which set records around the region for high temperatures in a year shaping up to be the hottest on record, two Red-eared Sliders were sunning themselves in Prospect Park.A couple of Chipmunks were out…
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Rusty Blackbird
A male Rusty Blackbird (Euphagus carolinus) was working its way through a goopy edge of the Lower Pool in Prospect Park.It was tossing wet leaves around like a stevedore and plucking the goodness out of half-drowned Sweetgum balls.Gorgeous patterning here in the non-breeding plumage. Bright shadow seems to favor him more than direct sunlight: Rusty…
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Flight Sluggish and Swift
On a blooming goldenrod, the only visible flower around, a single bumblebee. It was warm enough yesterday for invertebrates, but they have damn few places to feed. This bee did seem a little sluggish, but it was roused by the proximity of my phone camera, and buzzed a short distance away, and then returned as…
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Meadowhawks
It was a bright, cool day at Great Swamp NWR on Saturday. Insect life was particularly subdued; it is almost December, after all. I saw a fly and heard a cricket. There were a few Autumn Meadowhawks (Sympetrum vicinum), though, and presumably they are eating something. Above is a male.Here’s a a female, not nearly…
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No Filter But The Leaves
The sun is behind the brown and purple leaves of this White Oak, making some magic.
Backyard and Beyond 