Brooklyn
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Owl Week: Golden
There are some 181 species of owls in the world. Nineteen breed in North America. The one above is one of the many symbolic or metaphysical types. You’ll find it atop the ornate entrance of the Brooklyn Public Library, Central Branch, Grand Army Plaza, along with the golden characters of some great American books. Glaukos,…
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Owl Week: Great Horned
So far during Owl Week here at B&B, we’ve seen some of the smaller owls, which are rare for Brooklyn per se. But today we have the Great Horned owl, Bubo virginianus, which is big and bold and most definitely living here in Kings County. This picture is from two winters ago. Unfortunately, the nest…
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Owl Week: Saw-whet
The Northern Saw-whet owl, Aegolius acadicus, being owly in a conifer, the only trees that provide cover during the winter months. Nocturnal animals, owls sleep and rest during the day either in cavities or deep within the protective branches of trees. This photo was taken in the New York Botanical Garden two winters ago. The…
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Owl Week: Screech
A Eastern Screech owl, Otus asio. These photographs were taken at a raptor demonstation at the Queens Co. Farm Museum a couple of years ago. Such birds are partially rehabilitated rescuees who can’t be released back into the wild The Screech owl comes in three forms, or morphs: gray, brown, or red, as here. It’s…
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Down the Shore
During last month’s spring tide, we went down to the end of Flatbush Avenue to wander along Brooklyn’s shoreline at Dead Horse Bay. Spring tides, which occur just after full moons, result in unusually high high tides and unusually low low tides. The water level was the lowest I’ve ever seen it out there. (Note…
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Housemates
Changing some bulbs — I suppose they should be called tubes now — reveals some fellow apartment dwellers who went towards the light. Grave men, near death, who see with blinding sight Blind eyes could blaze like meteors and be gay, Rage, rage against the dying of the light. — Dylan Thomas
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Spider in the My Tub
Just think of all the animals that surround us, even in the city. Even in our homes. I usually have spiders, and I usually leave them alone. That inch-plus behemoth marching across the floor that one time I did put outside, but otherwise they’re free to do what they will in here. I used a…
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Fresh and organic
I thought that I might be posting less and less as fall turned into winter, spending more time as an armchair naturalist than as a field naturalist. But the inside of my apartment remains fecund and full of surprises. For instance: This lady beetle — I believe it’s a Multicolored Asian ladybug, Harmonia axyridis —…
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Strange Fish
Back in March, I found a perfectly preserved northern pipefish on the coast of Brooklyn. When I found it, I didn’t know what it was, but I thought it looked like a straightened seahorse. It turns out that seahorses and pipefish are related, in the Syngnathidae family along with the seadragons. I’ve never seen a…
Backyard and Beyond 