Bronx
-
Mammal Monday: Whistlepig
I’d just passed two woodchuck-sized holes under a tree when the lumbering run of a groundhog-in-the-fur caught my eye. The animal stood up for the best view in front of its burrow. Marmota monax, mammal of many names. Slightly easier to see if you click on this image to make it larger. *** The children’s…
-
Wetlands
An early morning in September, still warm and humid but not oppressively so. The wetland is rather quiet, though above me a couple squirrels gnaw away at hickories.I am delighted to see a spreadwing, the first I’ve seen in the Bronx. Slender Spreadwing, Lestes rectangularis, I think. He has caught a fly and is eating…
-
Monarch Monday
Some of the dozen Monarch caterpillars (Danaus plexippus) seen feasting on swamp milkweed (Asclepias incarnata) in the Bronx recently. This was my highest ever count to this date, although to be fair I’m much better at spotting them now. Good to see some action on one of the other milkweeds besides A. syriaca.In Queens a…
-
Monday Prep
A selection of recent sightings in Brooklyn and the Bronx to rev up your Monday morningI don’t think I’ve ever gotten a good picture of a Gray Hairstreak with wings open before.
-
Raptor Wednesday
Just a short distance from a new parking lot in the Bronx, young Red-tailed Hawks continue to raise a ruckus. *** Reading against fascism. Where I reacquainted myself with this quote from Hannah Arendt: “The ideal subject of totalitarian rule is not the convinced Nazi or the convinced Communist, but people for whom the distinction…
-
Mammal Monday
This feature of the blog is sporadic, for there’s a rather limited selection of diurnal mammals to be found with any regularity in the city. But baby Eastern Chipmunks (Tamias striatus) should carry you through the weeks.Cute, right? Don’t be deceived by anthropomorphic mammal-philic charisma. Without regulating predators like coyotes and foxes, small mammals like…
-
Speaking of Ticks, or More Foxes, More Possums!
I didn’t have my camera with me, so recent run-ins with three young rabbits in the Bronx went unrecorded. Each of them was festooned with ticks, around the ears, face, and neck. Some of the ticks were hugely bloated, looking like malignant gumballs or creepy purple pearls. A few days later, armed again with lens…
-
Sweetbay
Sweetbay Magnolia has such a delightful perfume.Magnolia virginiana. A native of the southeast that stretches up the Atlantic to New York. You know what doesn’t smell so good: 53-year old Brett Kavanaugh, and Kennedy’s negotiations to have his former law clerk replace him while his (Kennedy’s) sons are complicit in Trump’s corruptions. On Young Kavanaugh,…
-
Raptor Wednesday
Three in number, vocal in youth. (The third is hiding in the lower right.)The apricot/salmon flush to the breast is a sign of youth in Red-tailed Hawks. The feet are signs of raptor.Notice, too, how pale the underside of the tail feathers are.At least one parent was nearby, harried by Blue Jay and Eastern Kingbird.…
-
Recent Sightings
A President under investigation shouldn’t be allowed to appoint judges who will decide cases involving him. The Republican corruption of justice continues. And on top of that, this Kavanaugh character is already lying by saying “No president has ever consulted more widely or talked to more people from more backgrounds to seek input for a…
Backyard and Beyond 