birds
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Wing Mystery
A wing and nothing but a wing.Found at Floyd Bennett Field in the last week of December. About 6″ long.
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Borough of Raptors
Two Red-tailed Hawks (Buteo jamaicensis) drifted overhead of me as I crossed the Terrace Bridge on Saturday, coming from somewhere in the direction of the parking lot now befouling the top of Breeze Hill. One landed, the other floated off towards Lookout Hill. This photographed bird shook its tail feathers quite a bit, which made…
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Creeper
The Brown Creeper (Certhia americana) is rare in Brooklyn because its habitat is woodlands. This particular fast-moving specimen challenged my photography skills recently in Prospect Park, characteristically circling up tree trunks and branches in a hopping-like motion as it searched for invertebrate prey. The bird’s down-curved bill and stiff tail-feathers help keep it close to…
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Birdtree
Starlings (Sturnus vulgaris) and Cedar Waxwings (Bombycilla cedrorum) in the late afternoon.
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Borough of Raptors II
A Merlin (Falco columbarius) was perched over the Long Meadow on Sunday.Too bad the light was so gray, since, true to form, the bird was there a long time.This bird seems much more heavily streaked and russet-tinged than the Green-Wood Merlin I photographed on a nice sunny day in November. * The thing about raptors…
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Borough of Raptors I
Brooklyn was once known as the City of Churches for its many houses of worship and the way the steeples rose above the generally low-rise city. By now, though, a host of unprepossessing if not downright ugly glass and steel slabs have overthrown the dominance of graceful spires. Nevertheless, steeples and their crowning crosses remain…
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Ravens Over Brooklyn and Elsewhere
I saw my first Common Ravens (Corvus corax) in the Highlands of Scotland. We had walked up to a cave that had evidence of human habitation stretching back thousands of years. The ruins of a nest, washed down by a storm, were strewn about the cave opening, alone with some jet black feathers. Picnicking soon…
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New Year’s Ravens
Two Common Ravens (Corvus corax) were hanging around Sunset Park’s coast yesterday.I first spotted one from a distance while I was in the new Bush Terminal Park. I followed 1st Avenue to its end at 39th St. to see if I could get a better view. Did I ever! Turned out to be pair, and…
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Saw-whet
Eleven owls, from five species, were tallied during the Kings County Christmas Bird Count a week ago. Pretty impressive! Here’s one of the two Northern Saw-whets (Aegolius acadicus).This is the smallest (8″ length, 17″ wingspan), and probably the most common, owl in the northeast. The bird’s common name is a real throwback: the tooting call…
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Backyard and Beyond 