Fieldnotes
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Breakaway Scaup
May I present to you with a male Greater Scaup (Aythya marila)? These birds are found off Brooklyn’s shore, particularly in Gravesend and Dead Horse Bays, during winter. Over seventeen thousand were counted in DHB last Monday during a coastal survey. Now, that is a raft of ducks. But this male was all by himself,…
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Some Names
I was surprised to see, on a large banner on Smith St., which pictured what was there before industrialization, the nearby body of water referred to as “Hudson Bay.” This would be the water ground water flowed to from the Gowanus creek and swamp and the “Woody Heights of Guana,” as the British called the…
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White-throat
One of those indefatigable winter warriors, a White-throated Sparrow (Zonotrichia albicollis), in the life-giving Sumac. This is one of the easiest birds to identify by voice, since its call, transcribed as “Oh-sweet-Canada Canada Canada” or “Old-Sam-Peabody Peabody Peabody” (I have duel allegiances) is distinctive and frequent. These birds will head to Canada to breed, their…
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Belted Kingfisher
A Belted Kingfisher (Megaceryle alcyon) was patrolling some of the un-iced water in Stranahan-Olmsted-Vaux’s park over the long weekend.This is a male. Male birds are typically more colorful than females, but this isn’t the case with this species. M. alcyon females have a rusty band below the blue collar-like markings, the “belt” of their common…
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Bills V
The Northern Flicker (Colaptes auratus) is a woodpecker who often forages on the ground, digging and poking for ants and beetles and those ever gooey larvae. This particular bill appears to have some dirt on it from poking into Green-Wood last fall. This species is found across the U.S., but western birds have red-shafted feathers,…
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Ring-billed Gull
Last year, I posted a picture of a Ring-billed Gull (Larus delawarensis) on a lamp between Pier 5 & 6 in Brooklyn Bridge Park. This year, with a better-lensed camera, I offer another shot of a Ring-billed on the fence in the same area. Could it be the same bird? It’s very tolerant of people,…
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Bills IV
Get a load of the schnoze on this Northern Shoveler (Anas clypeata). This is one of the dabbling duck species, straining tiny crustaceans, plankton, and seeds from the surface of the water. These long bills have comb-like filters on them. This is a male, but not yet in full breeding plumage, which, like the large…
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Fog
I am partial to a good fog. Last Saturday, there was a lovely one. From Brooklyn Bridge Park, Manhattan was a dark smudge at water level; the moving smudge was the Staten Island Ferry. It lifted by the time I crossed the Brooklyn Bridge, but returned as I rounded down the Hudson side. That was…
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Bills III
The Black and White Warbler (Mniotilta varia) has a very slender bill for foraging for invertebrates amidst the bark and knots of tree.The bird’s hind toes/claws are unusually long, too, for getting a grip on vertical trunks. This one, a female, had just bathed and was grooming. This is not a shy species: I watched…
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Merlin
In the last week, I’ve seen 9 raptors, nearly half of them while I was walking down various streets of Brooklyn and Manhattan. My best day was Sunday, when I saw five birds of four different species in Green-Wood. This Merlin (Falco columbarius) was the highlight. Merlins are falcons, just slightly larger than Kestrels. I…
Backyard and Beyond 