Fieldnotes
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Late Insecta
Not a single bee, wasp, or butterfly spotted yesterday in Green-Wood during lunch. There was a suggestion or two of fly, and at least one spider. The first real day of winter, then, bug-wise. Last weekend, though, these stragglers were spotted: Differential Grasshopper, a big one. One of the confusing Syrphid flies. Clouded Sulphur. Vinegar…
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Old Hickory
This was actually yellower to my eyes than this orange-ish reproduction via the camera, but either way it sure jumped out at me — from outside the cemetery, actually. Carya species native here include mockernut, bitternut, pignut, and shagbark, but of course Green-Wood is an arboretum originally planted with specimen trees. I think this might…
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Raptor Wednesday
A yew: evergreen, dense, low to the ground. Accipiters in Green-Wood love these trees the year-around. A bird I could not identify was making a very odd noise at the top of one of these yews recently. This is often a sign of warning or distress. I saw a squirrel shock-still under the neighboring tree,…
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It’s That Time of Year Again
Generally, American Woodcock see you before you see them. And then they bolt. They are so well-blended in with the leaf litter that their noisy take-offs, sometimes from quite close by, are very startling. Flushed four on Saturday, three on Sunday. Two of Sunday’s, pictured here, took shelter under beechwood, all crowded with shadow, leaves,…
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Recent Birds
Palm Warblers are most commonly on the ground, but this one has snagged something insect-y on a tree limb. Kinglets to the right of me, kinglets to the left. The Ruby-crowned rarely shows his flaring ruby crown, but I guess he was put out by the other RCKs here. No “confusing fall warbler” garb for…
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Spiders!
I don’t think they’re scary, but my goodness, this one sure was big. Common House? One of the long-jawed orbweavers? Couldn’t see this with the naked eye, but in the camera, wow! Basilica Orbweaver. Characteristically makes vertical hangings of its egg cases. There were a bunch of these Basilicas in these bushes. What a revelation!…
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Raptor Wednesday
Keep watching the skies! Two Sundays ago was overcast and ready for rain. A distant passing bird, which I thought would be a gull, turned out to be a Bald Eagle heading SSW. This was, mind you, after spotting: A Cooper’s Hawk. A Merlin. And a Sharp-shinned Hawk. This one was in the Merlin Bowl…
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Oaken Sights
Yesterday’s log was at the base of a big old oak. The near-horizontal limbs were host to mosses and algae, which in turn host tiny invertebrates. This hole, too, looks like it has potential. Higher up, still another hole has become an airborne garden. Nearby, amidst the roots, a woodchuck den.
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In the Queen’s Chamber
Let this be a lesson to me. I turned over a rotten old log that was about two feet long and a quarter of that in diameter. It came apart in three pieces. This stirred up this Bald-Faced Hornet, all covered in saw dust. Must be a queen in her over-wintering chamber. A thousand pardons,…
Backyard and Beyond 