birds
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Butterbutts
One of our most common warblers is the Yellow-rumped (Dendroica coronata), whose sheer omnipresence this time of year almost makes them wallpaper. But it’s a stunning bird that always bears a longer look. The butter-yellow rump, sides, and just a touch on the poll, or head, contrast well with the gray, blue-gray, white, and black…
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Texas Birds I
Black-bellied Whistling Duck (Dendrocygna autumnalis).Olive Sparrow (Arremonops rufivirgatus)Least Grebe (Tachybaptus dominicus).Chihuahua Raven (Corvus cryptoleucus).White-winged Dove (Zenaida asiatica) and Common Ground Dove (Columbina passerina).Red-crowned Parrot (Amazona virdigenalis).Bronzed Cowbird (Molothrus aeneus).Ringed Kingfisher (Megaceryle torquata).Crested Caracara (Caracara cheriway).
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For Roger Tory Peterson
“A golden bird of wooded swamps.” — RTP on the Prothonatary Warbler (Protonotaria citrea), photographed in the Ravine yesterday in Prospect Park.Yesterday was the 80th anniversary of the first publication of Roger Tory Peterson’s A Field Guide to the Birds. Now, I don’t doubt that humans have been watching birds since we’ve been humans, and…
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Owl Ranch
San Migeulito Ranch is all owl, no cattle. A dozen miles from anywhere in Kenedy Co., and down a treacherously sandy road — we got stuck, as predicted, and needed a pickup to pull and five of us stout-hearted lads to push (this is when I think I picked up my tick and my chiggers,…
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Heron v. Fish
A Green Heron (Butorides virescens) was wrestling with a big fish it had caught today at the Upper Pool. I’ve seen other herons/egrets and cormorants working on big fish before. You hardly imagine they will be able to swallow their prey, but they almost always do. This must be enough food for the day.I saw…
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Nesting
I’m sure you can recognize these common nesting birds in Brooklyn right now. Meanwhile, our under-bridge pigeon nest is proceeding apace:
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Audubon Part II
The second of three John James Audubon exhibits is up at the New-York Historical Society. These are the original watercolors JJA did for his printer in England. Go! (I snapped a few details before being busted by museum security; since I wasn’t using a flash, I thought it would be ok.)It was a curious experience…
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Snow Goose
A Snow Goose (Chen caerulescens) was on Prospect Lake today. They are not uncommon in Jamaica Bay during the winter months, but don’t visit interior Brooklyn very often. Among the most abundant waterfowl on the continent, Snow Geese are often seen in huge numbers on fallow fields and wetlands.
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Scissor-tailed Flycatcher
Yowza! Kinda gobsmacking, the Scissor-tailed Flycatcher. Tyrannus forficatus is a backyard bird in Texas.We saw them every day. They’re the state bird of Oklahoma, too, where my mother was born. See it on the OK quarter. The males have longer tails, and more intense coloring. Look for the orange underwings. And those salmon flanks!The tail…
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Bill Strategies
Black Skimmer (Rynchops niger) with Laughing Gulls (Leucophaeus atricilla).American Avocet (Recurvirostra americana).Marbled Godwit (Limosa fedoa).Roseate Spoonbill (Ajaja ajaja).Reddish Egret (Egretta rufescens) and Black-necked Stilt (Himantopus mexicanus).Wait for it…Long-billed Curlew (Numenius americanus).Some of the birds at an afternoon’s stop at the Hans & Pat Suter Wildllife Refugue in Corpus Christi.You know you can subscribe to these…
Backyard and Beyond 