Fieldnotes
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Hemlocks Past
The devastation caused by the aphid-like Hemlock Wooly Adelgid (Adelges tsugae) was on display on our visit to Black Rock Forest. It was grim: skeletal bones of dead trees towered above us, waiting to fall. The Adelgids, which are fairly benign in their native Japan, where their host trees evolved along with them, kill our…
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More Snakes in the Garden Please
A young Common Garter (Thamnophis sirtalis) riding over the duff of Black Rock Forest.This one was about 7″.At a stream, I saw four mature Garters drift by on the other side; these were over 2′ long. My friends called my attention to the one on my side of the stream. Perhaps a wintering ball of…
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Mighty Acorns
Remarkable things, acorns. They’re packed with proteins, carbohydrates, and fats, as well as vital minerals: this is why they make such great animal food. There are not many mast-eaters in Brooklyn Bridge Park, though, where I found these red-to-mahagony colored nuts breaking through the shells recently. After wintering under the big freeze — hibernating, basically…
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Snails on Saturday
The rain in the middle of the week bought the snails out in the Back 40. Half a dozen were visible from the door for the rest of the week. All are the big ones, Cepaea nemoralis, an introduced species. I’m sure there are others. These two were getting frisky. More snails: the surprising abundance…
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Some Brooklyn Mammals
Squirrel sunning. Raccoon snoozing. Chipmunk being very still.Woodchuck being elusive. Check out the ground-hogging here on this slope: a duplex! The animal was peeking out of the nearer, top, hole, but vanished into the burrow before I could turn on my cameraSquirrel eating a… wait a minute, that’s a green-dyed Easter egg, more than a…
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Springing
When last we saw some blooming Round-lobed Hepatica, it was the white variety in Brooklyn Bridge Park. Over the weekend, we found a little cluster of the pink variation further north in Black Rock Forest.We initially took this pleated beauty for Skunk Cabbage, but further research by the Horticulturalist tells us this is actually False…
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Earth Day
In reality, of course, everyday is Earth Day.From the Black Rock Forest, here’s an emerging Wild Ginger (Asarum canadense) flower. An Eastern Bluebird (Sialia sialis).And some Green Frogs (Rana clamitans), before or after amplexus?
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Raptor Wednesday
The triumvirate:Red-tailed Hawk in Green-Wood.Cooper’s at Floyd Bennett Field. American Kestrel atop the Green-Wood gate. That’s a lightning rod next to this lightning bolt of a bird.
Backyard and Beyond 