Fieldnotes
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Red Hook
Male Gadwell (Anas strepera).Female Red-breasted Merganser (Mergus serrator). The design on the funnel of the Loujaine, an old freighter now used for storage.I arrived at the Erie Basin just as a water taxi disgorged consumers for the Swedish-themed flimsy-furniture store. These two goats in harness followed the crowd of bipeds towards the entrance.They hadn’t arrive…
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Texas Flowers
These are some flowers I’ve been hoarding to brighten and warm up a cold winter’s day.
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Birdtree
Starlings (Sturnus vulgaris) and Cedar Waxwings (Bombycilla cedrorum) in the late afternoon.
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Borough of Raptors II
A Merlin (Falco columbarius) was perched over the Long Meadow on Sunday.Too bad the light was so gray, since, true to form, the bird was there a long time.This bird seems much more heavily streaked and russet-tinged than the Green-Wood Merlin I photographed on a nice sunny day in November. * The thing about raptors…
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Borough of Raptors I
Brooklyn was once known as the City of Churches for its many houses of worship and the way the steeples rose above the generally low-rise city. By now, though, a host of unprepossessing if not downright ugly glass and steel slabs have overthrown the dominance of graceful spires. Nevertheless, steeples and their crowning crosses remain…
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Gull’s Eye
That’s not lipstick. Ring-billed Gull (Larus delawarensis), the most common gull in the city.
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Crow’s Eye
And bill. You may compare this American Crow’s bill with the Common Ravens’ in my last two posts.
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Ravens Over Brooklyn and Elsewhere
I saw my first Common Ravens (Corvus corax) in the Highlands of Scotland. We had walked up to a cave that had evidence of human habitation stretching back thousands of years. The ruins of a nest, washed down by a storm, were strewn about the cave opening, alone with some jet black feathers. Picnicking soon…
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New Year’s Ravens
Two Common Ravens (Corvus corax) were hanging around Sunset Park’s coast yesterday.I first spotted one from a distance while I was in the new Bush Terminal Park. I followed 1st Avenue to its end at 39th St. to see if I could get a better view. Did I ever! Turned out to be pair, and…
Backyard and Beyond 