Fieldnotes
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Raptor Wednesday
This was my winter of the Rough-legged Hawks (Buteo lagopus). I’d never seen these tundra-evolved raptors before, but the good, cold, blistering winds from the north brought them down to the coast of Long Island, possibly in larger numbers than usual, where they searched for grasslands similar to their northern habitat. Floyd Bennett Field. In…
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Ravens Making Ravens?
Remember when I saw a pair of Common Ravens flying and courting over a quiet (on the weekends) piece of the Sunset Park waterfront? It was a fantastic experience. I’ve been out to Bush Terminal Park several times since New Year’s Day, but didn’t have any luck in seeing the birds again until this weekend.…
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Word-Hoards
Kame, karst, kettle, key, kill, kipuka, kiss tank, knob, knoll, krummholz, kudzu. These are all the entries under the letter K in Home Ground: Language for an American Landscape, put together by a team of 45 writers and with an introduction by Barry Lopez. What a treasure trove! Sometimes, I’m down on the ol’ species…
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Geese
A goosey alignment: Brant and Canada. Branta bernicla and Branta canadensis. The Branta genus also includes the Barnacle Goose and Cackling Goose, which have been known to hybridize.
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1843 All Over Again
Green-Wood Cemetery is large, its paths many. Recently I came across this and remembered I’d been here last May, but not since. The remains of the nest are still relatively protected. Robins will sometimes use old nests to build new nests atop of, so perhaps this coming May I’ll remember to return again and see…
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Still Watching
You can see, in the snow, the footprints of those who have been walking right up to this roost. I’m good from here, though, on the road, perhaps 50 yards away, and the very limited angle of view — a few feet either way would obscure us — where owl and I can stare at…
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Airborne
A mass of gulls on Prospect Lake lift off in a cloud, swirling up high into the air.Most are Ring-billed, with the occasionally Herring and Greater Black-back, and sometimes something more exotic.
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Fifteen Doves
There are a few collective nouns for a group of Mourning Doves (Zenaida macroura): bevy, cote, dole/dule. Wouldn’t “cortege” be appropriate? And while we’re on the subject, what is the name for a group of collective nouns? A thesaurus of collective nouns? An obscurity? A venary?
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It’s out there
Like the truth…. Buried in the soil. Tucked underneath bark. In rotting wood. Encased in mud. Coiled in buds. Massed right out there in the open like in this mantid egg case. Can’t you hear it? The roar of life to come? Spring? Summer?
Backyard and Beyond 