Fieldnotes
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Raptor Wednesday
I’d hoped to be able to report some exciting falcon-reveal news about the local American Kestrels. The parents have been here and there, but as of this, written late yesterday afternoon, we’ve got nada to say about fledglings.Meanwhile, can I offer you this dicey situation as a substitute for your Wednesday raptor needs? A perched…
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Sinister Snails
Little freshwater mollusks in the Physa genus, according to the iNaturalist community. The aperture is on the left side, hence sinistral. In the Sylvan Water. How did they get here? Did they arrive via muddy duck feet, a noted transportation system for plants and animals?Less than a centimeter long, with some smaller. To the nearly…
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Mocking the Class of ’19
A fledgling Mockingbird in a tree. These things give themselves away with their “feed me” chipping.Another, even smaller, next to the neighboring bush. I think they were siblings (seemed to be fed by the same pair of adults).Looks helpless, but easily managed to hop-skip-flap up into the heart of the bush. People often mistakenly “rescue”…
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If you build it, they will come… sometimes
But not always. This wannabe Purple Martin colony waits patiently at the Narrows Botanical Garden. The half dozen bird-shapes are decoys It’s thought that the birds like to see that someone has done some recon. The so-called “scout” phenomenon of martins who arrive weeks in advance of others at a colony is, in explained by…
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Hedgehog Galls
Why, they’re miniature Tribbles! This white oak has been hosting these structures for years now on its leaves. But this is the first time I’ve seen them so fresh. They’ll brown up over the summer.A tiny wasp, Acraspis erinacei, known as the Hedgehog Gall Wasp, creates these in conspiracy with the tree. Essentially the wasp…
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Pollinator Week: The Wrong Bee
For National Pollinator Week, let’s talk about the wrong bee, the Honeybee, Apis mellifera. This one is entangled with milkweed pollinia. A pollinium is a mass or packet of pollen; in this case, there’s one on each end of these wing-like U-shapes. Orchids and milkweeds flowers are where you’ll find these curious pollen-delivery systems. Unlike…
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Raptor Wednesday
Hello, American Kestrels! Two female nestlings just a-bursting to check out the world, B63 bus, double-parked trucks, crazed drivers, and all! The parents, just around the corner. Interestingly, neither they nor the young could see each other directly.Mamma (presumably).A NYC classic: a rotted out wooden cornice. These small falcons are rather unusual: no other diurnal…
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Insects Update
A couple of American Snouts. Um, yes, that’s their rather descriptive common name. Libytheana carinenta is a lot more common south and west — I’ve seen them before in Texas. Their larval food plant is hackberry. There were three mature hackberries above this understory. What an illustration of the relationship between plant and animal! I…
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Recent Birds
All the evidence pointed to nesting American Oystercatchers in here. Keep your dogs on leash!Brand new Starlings have been everywhere.A fledged Chipping Sparrow. Hardly looks it, but could fly.Quiet while the parent was foraging nearby, but loud when the parent was near.Here’s another, some days later.And another…Common Grackle fledgling. Yellow Warbler: one of the few…
Backyard and Beyond 