Brooklyn Bridge Park
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Early Autumn
Yellow-rumped warblers, catbirds, hermit thrushes, various sparrows, honey bees, bumblebees, large milkweed bugs, and one lone dragonfly, amid the seedheads, drooping stalks, and last hurrah of blooms.
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More, please
Like tracks into the future, irrigation lines underline the new plantings at Pier 5, Brooklyn Bridge Park.
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High Gloss Lady
My “Year of the Ladybug” continues. Or, should I say, Year of the Aphids? Since it is the aphids, those little buggers, who have ushered in the ladies. This glossy creature is the Polished Lady Beetle, Cycloneda munda, a species new to me.Also known commonly as the Red Lady Beetle and the Immaculate — that…
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Early Fall
Yesterday morning around 10, it was under 60F and cloudy. The bumblebees were not quite warmed up. Some didn’t move at all, others were quite sluggish. Burly little things, with lots of muscle, which is one of the reasons they are one of the first flying bugs in the spring. They can warm themselves up…
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Mantids Take Brooklyn Bridge Park
I’ll be giving a tour for Brooklyn Bridge Park volunteers tomorrow. What will we see? Here are some of the things I’ve run into in the Park in the two years it has been open. And here’s the latest sighting:Chinese mantid, Tenodera aridifolia. Introduced to the U.S. in the late 19th century to go after…
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Re-blooming
A resurgent Magnolia bloom, as sweet smelling and disconcerting as early spring. Yesterday afternoon, Atlantic Avenue entrance to Brooklyn Bridge Park.
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Grasshopper
Almost two inches long, and with bold chevrons on their hind femurs, the Differential Grasshoppers (Melanoplus differentialis) are out and about now and engaged in making little grasshoppers for the future. They are fans of the Polygonum smartweeds, which grow practically anywhere, which means you might stumble across one (grasshopper, plant) in the midst of…
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Blackpoll in BBP
From the air, or, as in this case, the great bridge, Brooklyn Bridge Park’s Pier 1 is an island of green. We’re not the only species that sees and enjoys this. Recently a migrating Eastern Red Bat was noticed resting through the daylight. Yesterday, I saw three species of warblers in the park. They’ve dropped…
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Brooklyn Bridge Park
It’s the middle of September, but Brooklyn Bridge Park is still hopping. And flitting. And flirting. And… but see below. Noted yesterday, most often spotted first by my eagle, or should I say bug? -eyed companions:Gray Hairstreak, Strymon melinus, a small butterfly that looks like it could be going either way.Baby Gray Catbird, Dumetella carolinensis.…
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Life Cycles in Brooklyn Bridge Park
The rare Two-spotted lady beetles (Adalia bipunctata) I discovered in July are still active in Brooklyn Bridge Park. In fact:“Houston, we have coition.” Luckily, I didn’t learn about reproduction from Republicans, so I know that this kind of activity leads to:Lady beetle eggs. I assume Two-spotted, but don’t know for sure.A recently emerged adult, whose…
Backyard and Beyond 