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Harbinger
One of the earliest arriving birds of Spring is the Eastern Phoebe (Sayornis phoebe). I saw one yesterday in Green-Wood. There was much tail-wagging on the part of the bird, a characteristic of the species when it is perched, and rejoicing on mine (also characteristic of the species). The American Woodcock is an even earlier…
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Redheads and Other Excitements
A pair of Redheads (Aythya americana) in Green-Wood. The male, in front, sports that beacon of a head. These two, along with two slightly smaller female Ring-necked Ducks (Aythya collaris), very craftily kept their distance from me as I circled the blob-shaped Valley Water twice, as I aimed for the best distance and light.Here’s the…
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As spring follows winter
From this past September, a flashback to Adalia bipunctata.As I was trying to photograph another, this one found its way onto my arm. It readily adopted to my fingers for some photos.
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Three Mammals on an Early Spring Day
Eastern Gray Squirrel (Sciurus carolinensis).Eastern Chipmunk (Tamias striatus).Raccoon (Procyon lotor).Tail-grooming (de-fleaing?).
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And then suddenly
From the embrowned earth, the colors of early spring.Crocuses.And Snowdrops.And Winter Aconite.
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Red-Shouldered Hawk
A Red-shouldered Hawk (Buteo lineatus) perches near the Nature Center at Marine Park. A brief sighting; the bird zoomed off quick as a… hawk. Usually birds of the forest, they’re a rare sight in the city; I last saw one in Brooklyn in March 2011, at Calvert Vaux Park. I hear that this one has…
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Unreal Nature
On a recent trip to Croton Point, a friend noted how much he has been conditioned by television nature shows to expect spectacular close-ups, stunning cinematography and photography, and dramatic incidents in the wild. The real world is something quite different. Missing in those shows are the hours of footage, sometimes the days and even…
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Scaup
There are thousands of Scaup in Gravesend and Dead Horse Bay right now. Here’s a raft of them from the archives of 2012. They will soon head north to breed. Over the weekend there was precisely one at Marine Park Creek. A female Greater Scaup (Aythya marila). And she was on the rocks… making it…
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Area Closed
The signs are back up at the grasslands at Floyd Bennett Field. This doesn’t stop everybody, but they are better than nothing. Stay off the grasslands. Leave them to the Kestrels (Falco sparverius). This is a male, with blue on the wing.The signs are a handy perch. These birds hunt by hovering over the ground,…
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Springish
A Red-tailed Hawk was plucking a white fancy pigeon or maybe it was a peacenik dove; the feathers were drifting towards Grand Army Plaza like errant snowflakes. A small crowd gathered to watch, some aghast. There was a Hairy Woodpecker resounding away in the Lullwater, ratta-tapping a dead limb for all to hear. Those bellwethers…
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Backyard and Beyond 