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Intertidal Zone
The tides increase as you approach the Bay of Fundy. While the average difference between high and low is five feet here in NYC, it’s 10 feet in Maine. This means the state’s rocky shore is full of tidal pools, pockets of water temporarily abandoned as the tide pulls away. Such places are ripe with…
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Two Rarities…Offshore
Monhegan Island is ten miles off the coast of Maine. It’s blessed with ample fresh water and lots of plant life, which inspires the insects that hungry migratory birds are looking for as they sweep up from the south this time of year. For many of these migrants, the tiny island is their first sight…
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Falcons
As you may know, there are four young Peregrines in the 55 Water Street scrape. They are scheduled for banding tomorrow. Over at the House of D scrape however, this year’s crop of birds are older, much closer to fledgling. A friend and I have been stalking the place like paparazzi, which is sort of…
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Hello, Maine
Three views from Portland Head Lighthouse.Clarry Hill’s blueberry fields. The rocky coast of Monhegan.Looking towards White Head from Black Head, Monhegan.
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Adios, Texas
Talk about “road-side hawks”! A Swainson’s Hawk (Buteo swainsoni). Loooong wings. Didn’t look like there was anything on the road, yet the bird must have been attracted to something before oncoming traffic flushed it (we, of course, had already pulled off to the side of the road).Another roadie, the Harris’s Hawk (Parabuteo unicinctus), telcom-poll percher…
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Cairns
No rocky place should be left unhonored. The Hudson shore at Croton Point. A weathered piece of old brick, from the kilns that fed the metropolis down-river, contrasts nicely with a downed tree, so like rock itself.
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No Red-Tail?
Sometimes you don’t get a great view. Also, this Red-tailed Hawk (Buteo jamaicensis) is one of last year’s fledglings, so it’s still too young to have the red, which is really russet- or brick-colored, tail. But those rough, white, V-like markings on the back are an excellent clue to the identification of this species, at…
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Ball Moss
Ball moss (Tillandsia recurvata) isn’t actually a moss; it’s a flowering plant. This particular example was found on the ground after it had flowered. This plant is in the same genus as the famous dripping Spanish Moss (and both are in the same family as the pineapple). These not-mosses are epiphytes, aerial plants that attach…
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Adolescent Pigeons
We’ve been following the rapid growth of two baby Rock pigeons (Columba livia) under a local bridge. Click here for the first half of the month. The picture above was taken on May 19th. Just a little of the yellowy-fuzz on their heads now. Wings look good and feathered. Won’t be long now….Well, maybe not…
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Backyard and Beyond 