birding
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Dinosaur Jr. Feathered Out
A little less than two weeks ago, I snapped a picture of a brand new Rock Pigeon. This was the bird yesterday (on the right):They grow up fast, the kids. Still a bit smaller than the adult (both parents were around), but this youngster was furiously flapping its wings, getting used to them, preparing for…
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Ablutions
This Common Grackle (Quiscalus quiscula) was bathing in Brooklyn Bridge Park the other day.Then it preened, in those hard-to-get-to corners.Most of the passerines, of the order Passeriformes — who make up more than half of all bird species — have twelve tail feathers.This bird looks black from a distance, but blues, browns, purples, and greens…
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Gifts of Sight and Sound
Saturday was an epic day of nature exploration here in the wide world of the Borough of Brooklyn. In the morning, I took a friend and her mother birding in Prospect Park. We saw some 44 species of birds, a good-turn out for our visiting Virginia birder. In the late afternoon, I joined two other…
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Urban Myth Busting
“Have you ever seen a baby pigeon?” Well, yes, and now so have you. After all, they do not spontaneously rise out of nothing fully feathered as adult birds. I have seen the young ‘uns both in the nest and recently fledged, and, as in this unfortunate case, dead. Yup, the Rock Pigeons (Columba livia)…
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Waterfowl
A female Red-breasted Merganser (Mergus serrator) mixes Punk feathers with Goth eyes.A pair of these ducks were hanging out around Pier 5 the other day. Constant diving did not seem to plaster those stiff head feathers down for long.A Red-throated loon (Gavia stellata) was preening between Pier 5 and the ruins of Pier 4.The throat…
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Saw Whet
Of all the many services provided here at Backyard & Beyond, bird identification tops the list. Want to know what kind of owl that is in your backyard? You could look it up, of course, like my friend Zina Saunders did when she saw an owl outside her window. This was in the air/light shaft…
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Persephone
While failing to see the rare-for-our-parts Varied Thrush that has been in Prospect Park for a few days, I otherwise noted: two raccoons slowly uncurling high in a tree crotch; one darting chipmunk; a dozen turtles crawled up on shore and rocks of the Pools to warm up after so many water-chilled months; a Red-tailed…
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Problem Swans
With their long necks, Mute swans (Cygnus olor) can reach down to food that other geese can’t. Although loved by many, these swans are an invasive species, introduced to the U.S. to picturesque ponds and estates. Since then, they’ve escaped and established breeding populations in Prospect Park, among quite a few other places. Their aggressive…
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Croton Point
This Red-tailed hawk (Buteo jamaicensis) was perched near the entrance of Croton Point Park as we entered and then, several hours later, as we left, albeit on the other side of the road. We recognized him by his chest plumage and streaks of russet on the neck. This is a nice walk. We take Metro…
Backyard and Beyond 