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Campari Wasps
On July 26, I spotted this wasp at the pollinator-madness of the trumpet vine flowers. Put it up on iNaturalist and bumpkiss resulted. I added four more observations up to last week, when an Italian wasp enthusiast wondered if it was Eumenes mediterraneus. It wouldn’t be the first wasp that’s made its way over: the…
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Even More Migration
Ovenbird. Veery. Black-throated Blue female. Clay-colored Sparrow. First time I’ve seen one of these here in Brooklyn. Scarlet Tanager. House Wren. Hermit Thrush Damn! Brown Creeper interrupted by a building.
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Raptor Wednesday
Look who’s back! The Bald Eagle with the black R over 7 band, who first showed up in the spring, has lately been seen again in Green-Wood. After eating… something, the bird stropped its bill on this branch. The bird was banded as a nestling in 2018 in New Haven, CT. There’s definitely more white…
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More Migration Madness
Black-throated Blue. Scarlet Tanager. Yellow-rumped Warblers. Blue-headed Vireo. Red-eyed Vireo. Indigo Bunting. Tennessee Warbler. American Redstart.
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Migration Monday
Thursday night’s cold front rained migrating birds down on Brooklyn Friday morning. Saturday was even more hopping. A Nashville Warbler showing nicely. Note the reddish color in the head. There were so many Gray Catbirds. I figured everywhere north of us has been cleaned out. Ours will be gone soon, too. Mostly: a few sometimes…
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The Last Month
It’s one month before the election. The fascist Republican Party, uniting oligarchy, fundamentalism, and white supremacy, is attempting to lock its minority rule on the future. Here are some resources for defending our democracy. Voting early guide Get out the vote. Protect our vote. New Yorkers can register to vote until October 9th. Early voting…
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Notes on Galls
“Galls are highly specialized plant tissues whose development is induced by another organism.” The relationship is essentially parasitic, says Britain’s Plant Galls: A Photographic Guide, but “few gall-causers seem to cause more than localised, short-term damage to their host plants.” This book continues: “Plant galls can be caused or induced by a very wide variety…
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Back To The Galls
Andricus quercusstrobilanus on swamp white oak (Quercus bicolor). There’s no common name for this gall-forcing wasp species. Note the gap here, and the hollows within. The individual galls brown and shrivel up as they grow. Then they fall to the ground. (I don’t think this is standard for gall wasps in general). Since this tree…
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Sad Underwing
What a stupid common name for Catocala maestosa. This fabulous riot of patterning isn’t sad. Methinks the guy who came up with a lot of the common names for our moths, especially the underwings — the Girlfriend, Sweetheart, Magdalen, Once-Married, Mother, Semirelict, Darling, Bride, Tearful, Widow, Obscure, Betrothed, Penitent — had some issues, as they…
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Raptor Wednesday
Red-tailed Hawk. Cooper’s with Starlings. Same Coop without them. American Kestrel male. Northern Harrier. Broad-winged Hawk. Another Cooper’s.
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Backyard and Beyond 