-
Trillium, Herb Robert, Hawthorn
Trillium grandiflorum.Geranium robertianum, growing in the crotch of a tree. As with above, in the Native Flora Garden.Crataegus…The ringer of the trio. Native hawthorns have white flowers. This looks like the English Midland Hawthorn, C. laevigata, perhaps the cultivar “Crimson Cloud.”
-
CYT
Photographing songbirds is a challenge when you don’t have a long lens and flash. Warblers, especially, are little, quick, and often at the top of a tall, leafy oak tree. But we do what we can with the tools at hand. I happened to catch this Common Yellowthroat (Geothlypis trichas) male, easily distinguished by his…
-
Hatch Out
The alates, or reproductives, of a termite colony, swarming in advance of flight. These “hatch-outs” fill the air with these four-winged, weakly fluttering critters. Keep your mouth closed… The alates are one of three castes in a termite colony, the others being workers and soldiers. But they’re not ants (Hymenoptera), they’re in the same order…
-
Least Bittern
The news went out via twitter and emails yesterday afternoon that a Least Bittern (Ixobrychus exilis) was up a tree in Prospect Park. Unusual: the birds’ habitat is typically the reedy edge of water bodies, and it is generally very elusive. It’s our smallest heron, smaller even than the Green Heron. I’ve only seen one…
-
Sunset Park Elm
It’s been a month since I’ve last updated you with a picture of the local American Elm.
-
Peregrine Top
My friend Marion has had fun with the #ViewFromTheMoraine. That’s Mike’s Spike there, a notorious Peregrine perch this past winter. I’ve seen less activity there this spring, which could be accounted for by the fact that up to half of all peregrines at any given time now are currently sitting on eggs or feeding their…
-
All the Birds
This was my Big Day, on foot through Prospect, Green-Wood, and then down to Bush Terminal Park. Train to park, bus home. In chronological order. Yard Birds: seen from apartment or on way to subway House Sparrow Starling Rock Pigeon Osprey (on nest) Chimney Swift Herring Gull American Robin Blue Jay In Prospect Park: Gray…
-
Migration
A good, spicy Bloody Mary helps in recovering from these early dawn days. Today is Global Big Day, so get out there and see some of your avian neighbors, Also-Earthlings! Assuming the position.
-
Monk, Oriole
Checking in with the vocal Monk Parakeets (Myiopsitta monachus) of Green-Wood. Still hollering, in general, although this one was quiet for the photo. Year-around residents, they were introduced from the Andes. There are little clusters elsewhere in Brooklyn, but I believe the colony at the Green-Wood gate and the ConEd substation across the street is…
-
Some Recent Trees
A return to this young, and therefore low, Tuliptree (Liriodendron tulipifera). Remember how tiny these were back in March?Looking very weedy, several Pawpaws (Asimina triloba) sprout in the Brooklyn Wedding Venue’s Native Flora Garden. The tree turns out to be clonal, explains the sprouts. This is a new tree for me, just barely in range…
-
Subscribe
Subscribed
Already have a WordPress.com account? Log in now.
Backyard and Beyond 