birding
-
The Genius of Birds
Birds can see more of the light spectrum than we can; they can re-generate their hearing while we lose ours as we age; some of them have acute senses of smell that helps them find food, and home. Jennifer Ackerman’s new book is a synopsis of recent scientific discoveries about birds. If you are not…
-
Mystery With Distraction
So I’m trying to figure what this little warbler is hopping along the side of the road near the grave of Peter Cooper and family in Green-Wood. Female something, right? It flies out of my binocular vision, so I glance away from the glasses and see:A Wood Thrush (Hylocichla mustelina) just hanging out on a…
-
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…
-
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…
-
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…
-
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…
-
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…
-
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…
Backyard and Beyond 