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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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Flickerings
Northern Flickers, passing through on their south-bound migration, will often rocket off the ground well before your approach. A couple on the path ahead of me recently allowed me to stand still as they policed the edges for ants and, presumably, other delicacies. There certainly are a lot of components to this species’ plumage. And,…
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Monarchs, Mostly
All the Monarch caterpillars I’ve seen this month in Green-Wood. Not overwhelmed by the numbers, unlike two years ago. Black Swallowtail for a change of pace. *** I thought this Judith Butler interview on gender was excellent. It was an exchange of emails, so much better than a conversation; the written word is still the…
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Grosbeak, Beechnut
Red-breasted Grosbeak foraging for beech nuts. This is a female. The yellow underwings underline that. Males are pinkish-red under there. This one and several others are scarfing up dogwood fruits. *** New Yorkers have until October 9th to register to vote. Other states.
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Day-flying Nighthawks
On Wednesday morning around a quarter to eleven, I happened to look outside and saw a small herd of Common Nighthawks passing by. There were nine of them! This was after I’d seen a Broad-winged Hawk overhead, the first time I’ve seen one of these long-distance migrants in Brooklyn. Good birds to see from the…
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Some Wasps
Have you noticed all the parts of a wasp’s mouth? That’s the tongue in the center there, reaching into the nectar, but that’s not the half of it. This is Ammophila pictipennis, I think, one of the thread-waisted wasps. Here’s a European Hornet, hanging from at least one foot, devouring a Western Honey Bee. These…
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Raptor Wednesday
An Osprey passes overhead, carrying a fish head-forward. Location: Green-Wood, approximately a mile from the bay. (I don’t think that’s a Sylvan Water fresh-water fish.) Some forty minutes later, I heard the mewling call of one of these fish-hawks. Going to investigate, I was surprised to find it perched up in a tree with a…
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Waxwings in a Yew
Three or four young Cedar Waxwings gobbling up the cones of a yew.
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Backyard and Beyond 