birding
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Parakeet
Monk Parakeet, Myiopsitta monachus. What is a “parakeet” but a little parrot? As far as I can tell, the members of the family Psittacidae get called parakeet or parrot based on size and tradition, not biology.
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Shore Dinner
I watched as this Herring Gull dropped this Hardshell Clam (quahog) one two three times before the shell broke apart. The meaty deliciousness within went down the hatch pretty quickly. Note the flecks in the eye. The shelly remains. Nearby was this half-eaten fish. Possibly Atlantic Menhaden. When I returned about 45 minutes later, the…
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Raptor Wednesday
A pair of Red-tailed Hawks, half of the foursome then in the sky over Green-Wood. The feet-down flying thing is romance. Another day, another Red-tailed. Yet another day, another Red-tailed….It is actually the day without a Red-tailed sighting is worth noting. Not easy to see, but look at that profile: this one has a very…
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The Incredible Egg
Tim Birkhead’s The Most Perfect Thing: Inside (and Outside) a Bird’s Egg is a perfect thing in and of itself. This a short but intense look at what we know and don’t know about bird eggs. We know an awful lot because of hens and the billions of chicken eggs that are produced every year…
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Raptor Wednesday on Thursday
Having spotted this Red-tailed Hawk on the roof of my apartment building when I returned home last week, I hurried up the five flights to see what I could see. The bird was mantling over its prey, spreading out wings and tail feathers. Classic raptor behavior. We surmise from this that the bird is trying…
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Raptor Wednesday
Walking home, the low November sun in my eyes, I was not at first sure that the shape on the corner of my apartment building was. I briefly wondered if there was an architectural flourish I’d never noticed. The silhouette quickly resolved itself. A Red-tailed Hawk. With prey. And screeching at the other Red-tailed that…
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Gallish
Went on a walk last weekend in Central Park in honor of Alexander Von Humboldt and the late mycologist Gary Lincoff. We met at the Explorer’s Gate, next to the Humboldt bust. The baby vomit stench of ginkgo fruits, rotting and crushed on the sidewalk, deterred us not. The venerable American elm behind Alex reaches…
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Raptor Wednesday
A parade of Falco species! Last Thursday afternoon and then again Monday morning, a Peregrine (F. peregrinus) was atop St. Michael’s eating what looked like pigeon. (This butcher’s block, the highest perch for blocks, is two avenue blocks and one street block away from our apartment, approximately 500 meters/1640 feet, so these through-the-scope views leave…
Backyard and Beyond 