Brooklyn
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Frog, Turtle, ‘Gator
Big Bullfrog (Lithobates catesbeianus).Bigger, much bigger: Snapping Turtle (Chelydra serpentina). Possible looking for a place to exit the water and lay eggs (you need another reason to enforce the leash law in our parks?). Judging by the shell, I’d say I’ve seen this giant before. Also, even enormous Snappers start small; here’s a baby I…
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NYC Wildflowers Continued
Heart-leaved Groundsel (Packera aurea).Squawroot (Conopholis americana), needs a new common name.Pinxterbloom azalea (Rhododendron periclymenoides).Jacob’s Ladder (Polemonium van-bruntiae).Toadshade (Trillium sessile). Large-flowered Trillium (Trillium grandiflorum), also known as White Trillium and White Wake-Robin. “Wake-robin” is a name for trilliums in general, (as well as Jack-in-the-Pulpits); it was also the title of John Burroughs’s first book. The name…
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Barn Swallows Wallowing
It’s rare to get a good solid look at a Barn Swallow (Hirundo rustica), considering they zip through the air at great speed most of the time in pursuit of flying insects, but a pair were gathering mud recently for their nest.Barn Swallows build mud pellet cups; I watched one in process last year in…
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NYC Wildflower Week
Is well underway. There are events until Sunday in all the boroughs. Some of the things you might see include the following, which are blooming now: Spiderwort (Tradescantia virginiana).Wild Geranium (Geranium maculatum). Celandine Poppy (Stylophorum diphyllum). And, in the hiding the light under the bushel department, the Mayapple (Podophyllum peltatum). This lovely white flower grows…
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Wood Ducks
A birder named Ben mentioned he’d seen a Wood Duck with ducklings on the Upper Pool the day before, so we were on the lookout. A pair coasted on the water, but it was a single mom in the lily pads who emerged with seven ducklings (and, in fact, she gave the male of the…
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International Bird Migration Day
Magnolia Warbler male (Dendroica magnolia). An upstate NY and further north nester. Just passing through Brooklyn now … It’s International Bird Migration Day, which was developed to educate people about the transnational lives of birds. Right now, billions of individual birds are moving from Central and South America to North America, flowing from southern hemisphere…
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Look Up, Look Down, Look Out!
Come down a little closer, Scarlet Tanager! The bright morning sun is making your tail shine. Uh, yeah, like that, Piranga olivacea, male of.Meanwhile, in the grass, a male Bobolink (Dolichonyx oryzivorus). These are far more common in farm and prairie country than here in Brooklyn. I only saw my first a few years ago,…
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Goatsuckers
The Caprimulgidae family of goatsuckers are named because they were thought to suckle milk from goats. The Greeks thought so, and their man Aristotle was sure of it; the Romans ran with him, I mean, Aristotle, right? and then Linnaeus followed them. All wrong, like a good many other traditions: the birds are actually flying…
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Common Warblers
Norther Parula (Parula americana).Ovenbird (Seiurus aurocapilla). Note that black-bordered orange racing strip on the head.Northern Waterthrush (Parkesia noveboracensis).Black-throated Blue (Dendroica caerulescens). This is a female, neither black-throated nor blue. Common Yellowthroat (Geothlypis trichas); a male, with his distinctive black mask. These were all seen in Prospect yesterday, along with numerous others, including a Kentucky, rare…
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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…
Backyard and Beyond 