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Cicada Season
Last Sunday I heard my first annual cicada (Tibicen species*) of the year. It was just a quick stridulation in the native flora garden at NYBG. We didn’t hear the bug again during the hour we explored that summer wonderland. This week, I’ve heard a few cicada bursts in Green-Wood and in Sunset Park, across the…
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Water Birds
A Great Blue Heron in up nearly to its knees. In birds, the knees are very close to the sternum; the next joint down the leg, which most people probably think is the knee, is actually the heel. What you can’t see here are all the dragon- and damselflies going about their business as the…
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Lurking in Plain Sight
Harvestmen or Daddy-longegs (Opiliones).
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My Thoreau
Originally posted on Backyard and Beyond: Reading Henry David Thoreau’s Journal is one of my regular practices. The NYRB condensation of the massive work is my go-to edition: I’ve written about it previously. I find something of value on every page. And, as a whole, this blog, in case you haven’t noticed, has pretensions towards…
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Damsel
Actually, it’s the tiny fly (?) this male Orange Bluet (Enallagma signatum) has just devoured who was the subject in distress. You can see a tiny-wing leftover.
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Stag Beetle
A Common or Reddish-Brown Stag Beetle (Lucanus capreolus) male who didn’t make it. Found on the sidewalk next to Prospect Park. This specimen is about an inch long. Inhabitants of parks, suburbs, and hardwood forests, they’re mostly nocturnal. They feed on sap; those pincer-like mandibles are used to battle other males for territory. Dudes. A wonderful…
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Fledgling
Here’s a variation on a common sight: a young Mourning Dove (Zenaida macroura). Note how much darker it is than an adult. You might almost want to make it another species, although there aren’t really any other options on this end of the country.
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Out of the Sun
A Raccoon (Procyon lotor) was sprawled out on the second story fire-escape of my building’s inner courtyard yesterday. The critter probably found the shade most welcome on a hot day. It’s no tree cavity out there, true, but real estate is a bear in this borough. The animal was snoozing, as they are wont to…
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