Grackle joins in…

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From the Falcon Cam at 55 Water Street in downtown Manhattan, May 11th. A baby Peregrine at about a week’s age. In falconry, an unfledged chick is an eyas. This was May 5th, a day or two after hatching. Back to May 11th. Parent atop chick and…uh… Why yes, that is the head of a…

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Seven-spotted Lady Beetle/Coccinella septempunctata, adult and late-stage larva. Widely introduced in the U.S. from Europe, where it’s one of the most common ladybug species, during the second half of the last century. They were introduced here to combat aphids, since it’s always war war war against the bugs. They’re all over North America now. This…

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It takes a LOT of caterpillars to make a bird, even one as small as a Common Yellowthroat. Thousands of caterpillars make up a single brood of songbirds, for instance. The sheer number of caterpillars that are out there, or at least supposed to be out there, must be mind-boggling.

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A bit late, but here’s my sometimes annual The Catbirds Are Here announcement.

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Rufous-backed Cellophane Bees (Colletes thoracicus) mating. This is one of the 4000+ bees species found in North America; and/or one of approximately 450 species found in NYS; and/or one of around 200 species in NYC. This female, by the way, has damaged wings. Just over half of our bees are ground-nesters like the Rufous-backed. About…

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This Scarlet Tanager was just gobbling up flying things. Possibly bees and wasps. This Baltimore Oriole, meanwhile, was finding tidbits in old galls in a Shagbark Hickory.

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There may still be openings in my Green-Wood Bugging Out Walk on Sunday. This is aimed for 5-12 year olds and their parents. Molly is leading a Meet Your Green Neighbors walk on the same day, but earlier, and aimed at adults. Above is the first Bald-faced Hornet I’ve seen this year. She was scraping…

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10/A pursued by a Fury, or at least, a Common Grackle. This one was way up there, but if you look hard you can see the wide tail band and the dark edges to the wings: Broad-winged Hawk in migration north.

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May 8th The beginnings of a Baltimore Oriole woven nest in a London Plane. I’ve noticed that the nests here in Green-Wood are often made up of human-made materials—plastics, ribbons, fibers—and that they don’t break down over the winter—indeed, even several winters—like ones made out of plant materials would. Here, judging by his nearby presence,…

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