birds
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Brantlings
I was crouching down at Brant-height when the whole company of them were spooked by something. Their runway was in my direction. They took off not far above my head. One of the last to pass above dropped a very compact and intensely green turd, which bounced off my hat and landed in the grass.…
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Creature Comforts
Common Raven with grassy clump. Doubtlessly to line a nest with. On Twitter, I saw some photos from the Bronx, I think, that showed a Raven with a similar bill-full. Remember, the week before, these Brooklyn birds were carrying sticks.
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Oaks to Caterpillars to Birds
The National Wildlife Foundation has a county-level guide, the Native Plant Finder, to native plants that support caterpillars. Why caterpillars? Because they are esentially the foundation of the food chain for song birds. Even the seedeaters that come to your feeders for seeds and suet in winter feed their young caterpillars. Caterpillars are relatively soft…
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Water Bugs and Birds
Under a thin layer of ice, two true bugs in the Crescent Water. The first is a water boatman, the second a backswimmer. Not all of the pond was iced over. Aerators keep donut holes of water ice-free, and the edge along one side of the pond was also open. This Eastern Phoebe was making…
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Raptor Wednesday
Passing Bald Eagle. Coasting Red-tailed Hawk. On Saturday, there were four overhead at the same time. Merlin. I regularly saw them late last year, but this was the last time I spotted one, back in the middle of January. American Kestrel male perched on this 1960s vision of a future telecommunications center. Female and male…
Backyard and Beyond 