Fieldnotes
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Creature Comforts
Common Raven with grassy clump. Doubtlessly to line a nest with. On Twitter, I saw some photos from the Bronx, I think, that showed a Raven with a similar bill-full. Remember, the week before, these Brooklyn birds were carrying sticks.
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Sullivan Street
South of Washington Square Park in Manhattan, a newish building sports these delightful fossils in its sidewalk-level facade. Smile at the security cameras, or salute them with a single digit, and enjoy! *** Trump’s klownish klepto-kakistocracy tackles COVID-19: fundamentalist bigot/anti-science idiot Mike Pence, who as Governor of Indiana caused an epidemic by his ignorance and…
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Breaking: Willow Wednesday
This old weeping Salix isn’t waiting for spring, it is spring. While overhead, him Kingfisher keeps a chattery eye on the Dell Water.
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Oaks to Caterpillars to Birds
The National Wildlife Foundation has a county-level guide, the Native Plant Finder, to native plants that support caterpillars. Why caterpillars? Because they are esentially the foundation of the food chain for song birds. Even the seedeaters that come to your feeders for seeds and suet in winter feed their young caterpillars. Caterpillars are relatively soft…
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Water Bugs and Birds
Under a thin layer of ice, two true bugs in the Crescent Water. The first is a water boatman, the second a backswimmer. Not all of the pond was iced over. Aerators keep donut holes of water ice-free, and the edge along one side of the pond was also open. This Eastern Phoebe was making…
Backyard and Beyond 