birding
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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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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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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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At the House of D
Peregrine (Falco peregrinus) at entrance to the scrape. There are many finely-tuned words in falconry: “scrape” is purely descriptive; the birds may scrape a shallow depression for their nest. That’s about all the nest is. These hybrid urban falcons, though… it seems unlikely there was any soft earth or gravel in this utilitarian space, just…
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Rusty BB
The Rusty Blackbird (Euphagus carolinus) is a species in deep trouble. According to the International Rusty Blackbird Working Group, the species has shown “chronic long-term and acute short-term population declines,” more so than any other species we see. The numbers are startling, with a population plummet from 85-95% over the last century. The reason for…
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Coastal Brooklyn, Part II
So much depends on light and distance. The Red-necked Grebe (Podiceps grisegena) above was sun-ward and far.This Horned Grebe (Podiceps auritus) was sun-struck and near. Both of these species have very different breeding plumages, which they are named after (that’s not so helpful to those of us so far south of their breeding grounds). I…
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Coastal Brooklyn, Part I
My closest-ever encounter with a Red-throated Loon (Gavia stellata). In the calm waters of Erie Basin in Red Hook. The bird’s upturned bill and smaller size helps to distinguish this species from the Common Loon (G. immer), which in roiling winter waters at silhouette distance is still a challenge. The “red-throat” is part of breeding…
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What a day!
Croton Point Park: as the train pulled in, not a single Bald Eagle was visible in the trees fronting the bay. Uh-oh. I’d promised eagles to the folks I’d dragged up to celebrate my birthday. The absence of ice seemed to be telling; the birds were heading back upriver. When I was there at the…
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Peregrines
Wednesday at dusk: Peregrines (Falco peregrinus) on the steeple.Thursday morning, the fifth straight day of seeing Peregrines — either here in Brooklyn or across the East River at 55 Water St. This picture is from two blocks away. Gamaliel King’s steeple is a challenge to shoot between the trees, row houses… And of course the…
Backyard and Beyond 