From a five blocks away, you can see there is a disturbance in the raptor force, something atop St. Michael’s. From two blocks away, where this picture was taken, it’s Peregrine confirmation. Getting closer. The most dangerous part of this mission–getting to where the low afternoon sun is behind you–is crossing the block that’s all…

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Staten Island’s wharf rats have met their match. A juvenile Swainson’s Hawk (Buteo swainsoni) was spotted Sunday on Front Street by the S.I. Railroad’s big car maintenance building. The bird was in the same area Monday, when I took these pictures. Those long primaries! (They edge just past the tail.) Swainson’s are a fairly common…

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A rising tide lifts all boats, but also covers over this seal rock off Staten Island. Good timing here… An hour earlier, at the nadir of the tide. There were a couple of these Atlantic Harbor Seals (Phoca vitulina) around.

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A growth on a Tuliptree trunk. With evidence of several others that have broken off. Or, uh, been broken off, as in this case. I grabbed it and it snapped right off. Meanwhile, on an oak. What are these things? Burls of some kind? Root tissue? On beech. Same type of growth or different?

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I’ve written a lot about birds and ornithology for Jstor Daily over the years, and so have my co-workers. The editors compiled all these bird-stories this week. Enjoy!

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Two days of very cold weather over Christmas weekend froze up Sylvan Water. By Wednesday, a little patch was open. To be continued… (FYI: temps this week reached towards 60F).

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The low winter sun is murder on the naturalist’s eyes, but whenever I’m heading home and turn the corner onto 5th Avenue I always glance up at the tall antenna tower at 40th Street. A female American Kestrel has been up there at last once a day all winter so far. Anyway, this old TV…

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Horse-chestnut. Conifer. European Beech. (Sluggish at the start of the work-week after a holiday weekend.)

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While we’re overrun with Tufted Titmice, there are definitely fewer Dark-eyed Juncos in my patch this year. Here are two, one individual above and one below:

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