birding
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More Maine Birds
An exhausted Chestnut-sided Warbler (Setophaga pensylvanica) looking for food amidst the festering seaweed of Lobster Cove on Monhegan Island.And here’s one of the Empidonax flycatchers in the same spot. These flycatchers are impossible to tell apart unless they vocalize.There were big flocks of Cedar Waxwings (Bombycilla cedrorum) over Monhegan, sometimes landing near by. A Red-necked…
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Nesting Update
Returning to three nests reported here on May 23rd, I find the birds incubating. Nesting season is, for the observer, rather more contemplative than active. The Green Heron (Butorides virescens) was the only one of these three not hunkered down when I arrived. The bird was grooming itself — could be either male or female…
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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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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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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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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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More Nesting News
I know of two Green Heron (Butorides virescens) nests in the park, one at eye-level and one way up in the canopy.The sloppy-looking pile of sticks precariously thrown about up there seems to work for them. Someone said there were at least four of pair of breeding Green Herons in the park.Didn’t see any activity…
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Raptor Alignment
Aligned through the new Osprey nesting platform at Brooklyn Bridge Park’s ghost of Pier 4 is the 55 Water Street Peregrine scrape across the East River. It’s too late for Ospreys to nest here this season, but the falcons have three young (maybe four by now). You can spy on the falcons here; note, they…
Backyard and Beyond 