Brooklyn
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Urban Myth Busting
“Have you ever seen a baby pigeon?” Well, yes, and now so have you. After all, they do not spontaneously rise out of nothing fully feathered as adult birds. I have seen the young ‘uns both in the nest and recently fledged, and, as in this unfortunate case, dead. Yup, the Rock Pigeons (Columba livia)…
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Breakout!
Peekaboo. The magnolias are busting out of their winter furs right now in Brooklyn Bridge Park.
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Spring spider
Last week, on the first day of spring, a spider found itself in the tub.An American House Spider (I think), Parasteatoda tepidariorum. I got close with the camera and somehow brushed a line of silk, so that when I moved away, I inadvertently pulled the spider with me: it danced like a tiny puppet at…
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Waterfowl
A female Red-breasted Merganser (Mergus serrator) mixes Punk feathers with Goth eyes.A pair of these ducks were hanging out around Pier 5 the other day. Constant diving did not seem to plaster those stiff head feathers down for long.A Red-throated loon (Gavia stellata) was preening between Pier 5 and the ruins of Pier 4.The throat…
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Springing/Budding
Sweetgum (Liquidambar styraciflua) bud emerging. Today marks the vernal or spring equinox, when the hours of day and night are exactly 12 hours each — except that they are not. But you can take that up with your local astronomer if you’d like. Otherwise, enjoy the eruption of life here in the northern hemisphere in…
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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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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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Kitten Tails
Spring sneaks up on us. Little feelers of the season are already present in the city, like American Woodcocks flying down Broadway, crocuses blooming, witchhazel tendrils gnarling out from branches. I just noticed these catkins hanging on State Street. A number of plant families have these pendent flower clusters, which usually depend on wind pollination…
Backyard and Beyond 