-
Raptor Wednesday
Four Osprey at the city’s edges. They’ll all be heading south soon, alas. Two Red-tailed Hawks on Mike’s Spike. Good illustration of raptor sexual dimorphism: smaller male on left, larger female on right.
-
Tree Swallows
A tree full of them at West Pond at Jamaica Bay. There’s at least one Barn Swallow in the mix, on the far right and a couple of Starlings at the top left, but otherwise it’s Tree Sparrow City!
-
Monarch Monday
Down with monarchs and the assholes who for vote for them, but up with Monarchs! A trio of 3-4mm instars of Monarch caterpillars. I observed about 50 Monarch eggs on Common Milkweed in the last two weeks, but only 4 caterpillars.
-
Purple Martins
In Broad Channel, between Jamaica Bay Wildlife Refuge and the A train, I was gagging on the astroturf a garden supply, of all things, had laid down in the space between unimaginative plantings, when I came upon this sight for sore eyes: A Purple Marin colony! Turns out there’s a five-year-old record of this on…
-
Harbor Sights
Gravel barges in Upper New York Bay are impromptu gull and cormorant resting places. The piers at both ends of the Staten Island Ferry are also good places to look. I just spotted this Black-crowned Night-heron as it tucked into the space between bulkheads.
-
New Insect Sightings
Red-footed Cannibal Fly/Promachus rufipes. Fantastic name! Formica subintegra (ID unconfirmed) Anthrax argyropygus (ID unconfirmed) Ceropales maculata. (I’ve seen these upstate, but not in the city before.) North American Common Water Strider/Aquarius remigis. Poison Ivey Leaf-miner Moth/Cameraria guffifinitella.
-
Another Day, Another Kestrel!
Female youngster with dragonfly. Mockingbird comes in… Causing her to re-position. And then joining her siblings.
-
Raptor Wednesday
For two weeks after seeing a Red-tailed Hawk eat a male American Kestrel, I could not confirm that the parent male of the nest and then family we’ve been watching all summer was not the victim. But here he is! There was a strong clue on July 28, when a male went after a rare…
-
Crows on Roof
A family of four, two juveniles and two adults, have been showing up on the roofs across the street. Some chicken bones, some bread… what more do you need? But wait, these roofs are also a young squirrel highway… They both spooked each other.
-
Subscribe
Subscribed
Already have a WordPress.com account? Log in now.
Backyard and Beyond 