There isn’t much meat on a maple samara, so this Eastern Grey was rootling and grubbing and chomping. Each picture above is a different samara. Then suddenly… She found a piece of paper bag. She stuffed one end into her mouth and crushed the rest of it to herself. And carried it across the street…

See more

Next to a well-stocked bird-feeder, this Black-capped Chickadee goes for a black willow bud. *** I remember when the shutting down of the Gulf Stream was a wild hypothetical, the absolute worst-case scenario that would never happen in the lifetime of anyone alive today. But, as in a lot of the news about climate change,…

See more

This heron was hanging out here on Wednesday, Thursday, and Friday. Not vociferating; perhaps yawning or working up a pellet of nocturnal fish and who knows, maybe rats….

See more

Get ready! This year’s big Magicicada 17-year cicada emergence covers a lot of the eastern U.S. It’s “among the largest (by geographic extent) broods.” Here’s a map of the last Brood X emergence in 2004. Maryland/Delaware and Indiana are the places to be (get your shovels, the remains will be piled high!). Long Island is…

See more

When twenty Monk Parakeets are hooting and hollering, you know something’s up. Ah, yes. Atop the Neo-Gothic pile of an entrance gate designed by Richard Upjohn for Green-Wood Cemetery, there’s a large parakeet nest. And on this day, there was a Red-tailed Hawk. The bird did some stretching. And flexing. Note how the darker bands…

See more

I started this blog on March 3, 2010 with a picture of a baby Painted Turtle. It was simple, a picture and quote by Stephen Jay Gould: “We must tackle and grasp the larger, encompassing themes of our universe, but we make our best approach through small curiosities that rivet our attention — all those…

See more

Chomping at the bit here for some insect life after months of winter. Sure, I’ve seen a few flies all winter long. And I took this picture of this Polyphemus Moth cocoon in December, but saw it still going strong (i.e. just sitting there) the other day. This is the only one of these I’ve…

See more

The Eastern Gray Squirrel comes in a handful of color forms. Gray is the predominate one. There were six squirrels in this silver maple the other day. Two were gray, the other four were a mix of very dark gray and black with reddish highlights. They were all eating the maple buds. Spring is cusping.

See more

The loudest avian voices during winter here are the Blue Jays. They will often mob a raptor, shrieking stridently and even attacking. It’s as good a raptor-alert system as any: attend the noisy Jays and you may very well find a Red-tail or a Cooper’s in the tree or shrub with them. They aren’t just…

See more

The House Sparrows are staking out their claims. Right next door, the Starlings are proclaiming their nest sites as well. Full-throated singing from a House Finch. A Song Sparrow being a little more subdued but still giving the syrinx a go. And, not pictured, a Northern Cardinal belting it out from the top of a…

See more