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Raptor Wednesday
The Staten Island Ferry passes this octagonal sewer outfall structure (circa 1915) near Robbins Reef Lighthouse. The other day… … you can see why I did a double-take. A mature Bald Eagle was perched upon it. (Yes, that’s a golf course on the Bayonne Peninsula beyond.) From another angle.
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Hedgehog Galls
On White Oak/Quercus alba, the distinctive galls of the Hedgehog Gall-maker wasp, Acraspis erinacei, are in full “flower” right now. These growths are induced in the plant by the tiny wasps to serve as nesting and feeding chambers. Yes, this is oak DNA being manipulated by wasp DNA. Galls are tough, but they are not…
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More Corvids!
Through fence and scrub, across the tracks of the D train cut, a glimpse of nestling crows. This is one of three local crows nest I’ve spotted this season, but the only one I can see now that the trees are crowded with leaves. I saw this parent bird prepping food on a neighboring building…
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Bees on Penstemon
Some bees, like this Brown-backed Bumble and this European Woolcarder, go right into the flowers. Others, like this Great Northern Bumblebee queen, are too big, but her tongue suffices. This Eastern Carpenter is too large and too short-tongued, so she straddles the flower and sticks her tongue into the nectary from outside. This is one…
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Raptor Wednesday
On June 8th, I walked by the American Kestrel nest where I had seen three nestlings the previous Thursday. There was no sign of activity. Within the cemetery, I soon found this female fledgling. This is the same oak I found the fledglings in last year, on June 7, 2024. It is one of the…
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Wee Robins
Calling loudly. Young’uns like this are often mistakenly presumed to be in need of rescue, but as long as there aren’t any cats around, these fluff balls are likely fine; their parents will take care of them. I found this nest by looking up. Right over the sidewalk, these two were quite quiet. But this…
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Backyard and Beyond 