birds
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Raptor Wednesday
Every once and a while, an Osprey scouts out Green-Wood’s Sylvan Water, the largest body of water in the cemetery. Just in case. There certainly are fish in there. This one is entirely too small for an Osprey, but intriguing nonetheless. What is it? Of course, that fish is perfect for a Kingfisher. This one…
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Raptor Wednesday: Earth Day Edition
In April 1970, at the time of the first Earth Day, there weren’t many Bald Eagles to be found in the Lower 48. Your chance of seeing one over Brooklyn, of all places, was extremely unlikely. Practically fabulous. That they might breed within the city’s limits was an equally outlandish notion. Even before DDT brought…
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Small Birds
Palm Warbler. Golden-crowned Kinglet. Yellow-rumped Warbler variations. Pine Warbler. Blue-gray Gnatcatcher. Here’s a special one. Yellow-throated Warblers breed to the south of us. So they’re rarer up here, having overshot their migration. Note the lores here. The spaces between the eyes and the bill. That line is white in this case. This makes this one…
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Yellow-bellied Sapsucker
Sapsucker sap-sucking. Previously tapped holes. And even more previously tapped ones seen further to right on this old yew. And this yellow belly we hear tell of? Subtle, and not shown to advantage in this under-tree light. The bird was named with corpse in hand, as used to typically be the case. Sharp-shinned Hawk, anyone?…
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Raptor Wednesday
If you crossed Rear Window and The Birds… The local American Kestrels making more little falcons. Copulation lasts about ten seconds. Frequency seems to be key. They’ll do it multiple times a day, totaling hundreds of times over the pre-brooding period.
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Passer
House Sparrows love these stop light support structures. Love them! There’s often a pair nesting in each end. The male is keeping a very sharp eye on me. A species hardly ever noticed. This is another male near the nest shown above. Here is another: They’re awful sociable.
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Leaves of Invertebrates
American Robin in the leaves. Because that’s where the good stuff is. Now, if this bird could turn over logs: *** I can’t stomach watching the Orange Troll in action, but I forced myself to look at his sniffly Gollum-in-a-fright-wig performance last night. What a squandered opportunity, but who expected more after three years of…
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Raptor Wednesday
Cooper’s Hawk near the bird feeders. But, as you can see from that bulging crop, already full. Juvenile. As this bird ages, the chest will transform into russet bars. The eyes get oranger and redder with age, too. The bird was perched at eye-level about 20 feet off a path. After someone walked by, without…
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Weekend Birds
Two pairs of Wood Ducks on the Lullwater. Male Belted Kingfisher above them. Have there been Kingfishers in both Green-Wood and Prospect all winter? When the light hits a Common (ha!) Grackle just right, look out! White-breasted Nuthatch. Pied-bill Grebe. Some Red-winged Blackbirds are back, and, more importantly, they are making noise. Mallard and Ring-necked…
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Raptor Wednesday and Gratitude
A new year of Backyard and Beyond is nothing without you, dear readers. And photo-viewers (I know some of you don’t bother with the words)! Male American Kestrel on the lookout. And on the… Zorkanian death ray? Actually, it’s an antenna on a MTA building. Relic TV antennas still dot the rooftops here. I can…
Backyard and Beyond 