birds
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Prison Peregrine
I only recently discovered that Peregrine falcons nested on the high-rise Brooklyn Detention Complex on Atlantic Avenue last year. This building used to be called the Brooklyn House of Correction ~ things becomes more complex but not necessarily better ~ although it is neither a house nor particularly corrective. I’m not often near it, even…
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We stand
on the wings of eagles.High about the columns at Grand Army Plaza, symbolic eagles provide a perch for even mightier real pigeons. These columns, with their pre-fascist fasces, were designed by Sanford White, whose post-Olmsted and Vaux entrance-way brought the rustic Victorian park into the grandiose Victorian end of the century (1892). Brooklyn-born Frederick MacMonnies,…
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Audubon’s Aviary, Part I
The New-York Historical Society has begun it’s three year, three-part exhibit of John James Audubon’s preparatory studies for his masterwork. These were the watercolors that Audubon gave to his printer, Robert Havell, in London, who then made the prints for the multi-volume Birds of America. “Preparatory study” is an understatement, however, for these incredibly detailed…
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Persephone
While failing to see the rare-for-our-parts Varied Thrush that has been in Prospect Park for a few days, I otherwise noted: two raccoons slowly uncurling high in a tree crotch; one darting chipmunk; a dozen turtles crawled up on shore and rocks of the Pools to warm up after so many water-chilled months; a Red-tailed…
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Problem Swans
With their long necks, Mute swans (Cygnus olor) can reach down to food that other geese can’t. Although loved by many, these swans are an invasive species, introduced to the U.S. to picturesque ponds and estates. Since then, they’ve escaped and established breeding populations in Prospect Park, among quite a few other places. Their aggressive…
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Croton Point
This Red-tailed hawk (Buteo jamaicensis) was perched near the entrance of Croton Point Park as we entered and then, several hours later, as we left, albeit on the other side of the road. We recognized him by his chest plumage and streaks of russet on the neck. This is a nice walk. We take Metro…
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Lulled
The Lullwater looks calm this time of year. But submerged things are a-fin, and just on the other side of the Terrace Bridge, behind me, were three Hooded Mergansers, two Red-breasted Mergansers, a pair of Wood Duck, and several Ruddy Ducks, the males with electric blue bills. Titmouse, Cardinal, Nuthatch, Chickadee, Brown Creeper, Song Sparrow.…
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Checklist
Snowdrops: Check! Crocuses: Check! Witchhazel: Check! And half-a-dozen or so Red-winged Blackbirds, bringing the area around the Terrace Bridge to sudden, raucous life with their insistent “I am now here!” vocalizations: Check! It was interesting to observe these birds, all males. Two at the feeders presented variations in plumage, with one bird sill having some…
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Beading
Water beading on the feathers of a Ring-billed gull’s neck. Like ducks, gulls spend a fair amount of their time afloat, so their feathers need to be waterproof. (This particular bird was an ex-gull, allowing me the close-up.)
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Foxy
Six species of birds under the feeders in Prospect Park. The large sparrow here, second bird down from the top, is a Fox Sparrow (Passerella iliaca).This is one of the birds that visit us during the winter months from their breeding grounds in the boreal forests. We never get too many, but there should usually…
Backyard and Beyond 