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Darners
The mosaic darners of the genus Aeshna are some of our largest dragonflies. There are 20 similar looking species in North America, so they can be a bear to identify. This looks like a Shadow Darner (Aeshna umbrosa), photographed recently in Westchester Co. They run about 2.9″ long. Shadow Darners can be seen well into…
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Feather Quiz
Starting with a gimme, a bit of exotica.Found along a pond in Westchester Co.Found at the northern end of Central Park. Answers in comments. It’ll take several days to get back to ya’ll.
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Tern Tern Tern
Time for a Tern challenge? Post-breeding terns lose their summer plumage quickly. So what do we have here? (These pictures were all taken two weeks ago in tidewater Virginia.) A. B. C. Yes, that bill is broken. Th bird was grooming, but I wonder how long it can survive this way? (Note that I won’t…
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Raptors
In Raptor: A Journey Through Birds, James MacDonald Lockhart loosely follows William MacGillivray, the nineteenth century ornithologist, from Scotland south, searching for the fifteen species of British raptors. You may recall MacGillivray from the Audubon connection: he was John James’s ornithological ghost writer. I was struck by this: MacGillivray called his knapsack a “machine.” A quick…
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Spreadwings
I have not come across any of the spreadwing damselflies in Brooklyn. These Lestidae family insects are the exception to the rule that damselflies rest with their wings folded back above their abdomen, in contrast to the dragonflies who don’t fold their wings at all. This year I caught a glimpse of a spreadwing —…
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Deep Maps
William Least Heat-Moon’s PrairyErth is an close exploration of the place now called Chase County, Kansas. The book is large and sprawling. I read it over several months, usually just a few chapters at a time, letting the details build up like the old prairie soils. Much, as he notes near the end, has been…
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Current Lepidoptera
And even more butterflies. This is a Fiery Skipper (Hylephila phyleus). Mostly southern, but makes forays as far north as New England. First spotting of this species for me, in Green-Wood.Black Swallowtail (Papilio polyxenes) caterpillar. This is the one that gets on your parsley; the earlier instars or stages are black with a white splotch in…
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Painted Ladies
There were more Vanessa cardui butterflies around the Green-Wood Buddleja planting than I’ve ever seen in one place in New York City.Really nice to see so many individuals of slightly different sizes and color intensity.What is up with this hanging out on the stone or tarmac?
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Raptor Wednesday
A Bald Eagle coasts across Beaverdam Park in Gloucester County, VA. We only spotted one of these enormous birds this trip; in April we had 22. But the Osprey didn’t disappoint. Counted 17 on the way back, mostly at the Frances Scott Key and Potomac Bridges. Post-breeding season, many still perch on nest sites. As…
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Wing Bands
The Black Saddlebags (Tramea lacerata) is a dragonfly rarely seen perched. But sometimes you get lucky.The “saddlebags” = the dark coloration of the hind wings. This could be an immature male or a female. The yellow spots on the abdomen are the ambiguous tell: a mature male won’t have these.A closer look to examine the…
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