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Goslings
Not exactly the middle of the road. But close! There were two families of Canada Goose (Branta canadensis) goslings down at the end on 39th St. this weekend. They were hanging out with the feral cats who infest the area.Both goslings (and their parents, who hissed sinisterly at bipeds) and cats seemed cool about the…
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Spotted Sandpiper
Yesterday, there were half a dozen Spotted Sandpipers (Actitis macularius) around Green-Wood’s Sylvan Water. Another was spotted at the Dell Water. Along with Solitary Sandpipers, this is one of the few sandpiper species that you will find on inland, fresh, waters. I’ve never seen this many at one time. From much farther away, but this…
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Enterdale
This is the way to enter Prospect Park: start at Grand Army Plaza and enter on the left, past the statue of James S.T. Stranahan. He was never a military man, so saluting wouldn’t be appropriate, but you should tip your top hat* in his memory. Follow the curving path around the corner of the…
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A Man, A Plan, Stranahan!
Where are my manners? I’m only just getting to letting you know that I’ll be doing a Jane’s Walk tomorrow, starting at 11 a.m. at the Grand Army Plaza entrance to Prospect Park. We meet at the feet of the statue of James S.T. Stranahan, tucked in just to the left of the drive. A…
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Pothole
Seemingly drilled into the schist of Inwood Hill by some kind of large-bore drill, this is actually a glacial pothole, scoured out by the mighty power of swirling water and abrasive stones during the heady days of the Wisconsin glaciation. The diameter is a little over a foot and a half. The heights of Inwood,…
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What Good Are Birds, Anyway?
Sure they’re cool to look at and some of them are beautiful singers. But why the hell should anyone who doesn’t like or care about birds give a damn about them? I mean, who cares if one or a hundred species go extinct, there are still 10,000+ left, right? As spring migration warms up, let…
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Beach Tiger Beetle
This is a Northeastern Beach Tiger Beetle (Cicindela dorsalis dorsalis), seen last week in Virginia. The Chesapeake region is their last holdout. They used to live on Long Island beaches, but no longer. Creatures evolved to beach habitat — others include the endangered Piping Plover — never saw the four-wheel drive coming. This was at Bethel…
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Osprey Galore
Are you old enough to remember when there were a lot fewer Osprey (Pandion haliaetus)? By the 1960s, numbers were grim because of a history of assassination, egg-collecting, and finally DDT, which weakened their eggs so much the birds were actually crushing their own young during incubation. In 1969, there were an estimated 150 breeding…
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Backyard and Beyond 