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Raptor Wednesday
On Sunday morning, this bird flew up from the fire-escape to attempt to grab a Mourning Dove that had just landed on the roof parapet. The dove had no difficulty getting away. The hawk then flew into the park, landing in a linden with at least two Grey Squirrels in it. There was some scurrying…
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Oriole Again
Taxus baccata is native to northern Europe. You may therefore not be surprised to discover that some birds there can and will eat the seeds.
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Cuckoo, Cuckoo!
Sumer is icumen in,/ Lhude sing cucu, begins one of the oldest songs in English. The distinctive call of the male Common Cuckoo, just returned from winter in sub-Saharan Africa, has long marked the return of spring to Europe. People used to write to the Times to report the date they first heard it for…
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Winter Snap
Yesterday morning, Sylvan Water, the largest of Green-Wood’s ponds, was frozen over. Fantastic thrumming and booming came from the ice, sounding as if submarines, dolphins, and Red-bellied Woodpeckers were down under there. Sound does amazing things through ice. A few weeks earlier, when there was somewhat less ice on the pond, I saw one of…
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Overwintering II
Year-round range for this species nudges up through Delaware, which is why these birds are often the first migrants we see in spring here in New York. They don’t have far to go. The last several winters here have seen the occasional stray hang around.
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Backyard and Beyond 