birds
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Raptor Wednesday
December 15th. Every bird is unique, but we rarely have the opportunity to study them that closely. But this yearling Red-tailed Hawk has quite a lot of scapular markings, the wide white on the wings. This is broader than general for our local Red-tails (the species is found across North America with lots of variety).…
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Water, Water, Not Everywhere In Winter
Brant (Branta bernicla), geese who visit the region in winter.A trio of Canada Geese (Branta canadensis) in the mid-zone for scale. These two geese species share a genus and look superficially similar from afar. This was fresh water rippling out into Jamaica Bay, and everybody was happy to get some. Last week it was…
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Uncommon Common Goldeneye
A male Common Goldeneye, spotted recently off Red Hook.A rare bird for Upper New York Bay. Seen in ones and twos and occasionally threes. Locally, Jamaica Bay is better. I’ve never been this close.Where pop, Cold War, and birding intersect: bird-watcher Ian Fleming’s Jamaica home was named Goldeneye, whence the Bond title (or was it…
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Owling
Did you see this essay on owl etiquette? Food for thought, before you spit up the bones and fur. Personally, I wouldn’t announce an owl location on social media, but I very much like his point that owls are excellent ambassadors for recruits for friends of the wild. Because the planet has enough enemies already.…
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Raptor Wednesday
This fire escape is about one third of the way down the block. In the mornings, Mourning Doves, Starlings, and House Sparrows are wont to huddle here to catch the warming rays of the sun, sheltered from the predominately western wind. When this male American Kestrel appears, everybody else flees. I’ve spotted him up here…
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Waterfowl Counting
Four of us braved the element of a cold NNW wind coming off the bay to count waterfowl for an annual NYSOA survey. We were assigned to two segments of the Brooklyn waterfront, Bush Terminal Park and the Brooklyn Army Terminal pier. The latter was quiet; large bays on either side of the pier had…
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The Fields of Sweetgum
Just a part of one of the large spreads of fallen Sweetgum balls I’ve ever come across recently. Not pictured here are the Dark-eyed Juncos that were taking advantage of the windfall. The tiny Liquidambar styraciflua seeds are a big source of winter food for birds.
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Sturnus vulgaris
When Pluto was “demoted” as a planet I was taken aback by the reaction. It was like people had lost an invisible childhood friend. But science changes, refines, and, yes, overturns old verities, and this is process is much more interesting to me than a sentimental connection to something learned in childhood. Contra that guy…
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Raptor Wednesday
Looking northwest-ishly from the View From The Moraine towards Governor’s Island, we see two brick smokestacks rising from the plains of Industry City. They are that massive facility’s power plant’s exhaust funnels. The taller one works: steam (and what else?) rises from it night and day, except sometimes not on weekends. I’ve often wondered if…
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Mimus polyglottos
And who hasn’t felt the side-eye of a Northern Mockingbird greedily claiming all the little pears of winter? Different day, same patch. A different tree this time: those red linden branchlets! Same bird? In this case, it was much colder so there some puffed-up feather action here. Great insulation, feathers. I wore down myself yesterday.
Backyard and Beyond 