Brooklyn
-
Hammer and Tongs
In the depths of a Callery pear tree, whose fruit was simultaneously being ravaged by Monk Parakeets, this determined Red-breasted Nuthatch hammered away at nuts ferreted out of a neighboring arborvitae. From food tree to anvil tree, over and over again.While Green-Wood has been awash in White-breasted Nuthatches, a few Red-breasted have been present as…
-
Mammal Monday
The signs of raccoons are everywhere in Green-Wood, particularly at the base of trees where they leave their poop piles. They sometimes also leave an impression…. We were surprised to spot this one sleeping in the rough on a chilly day. You’d think it would be snug in some tree hole somewhere waiting for the…
-
Bat Outta Green-Wood
About three weeks ago, I was surprised by a bat in Green-Wood batting around in the early afternoon. It zipped about in a clearing for a moment or three. It was an Eastern Red (Lasiurus borealis). Too bad I was in the bat’s shadow. Just heard about a more recent sighting: warm days can bring…
-
Raptor Wednesday
This was quite a drama. Several Blue Jays chasing a Sharp-shinned Hawk from tree to tree in Green-Wood. The hawk couldn’t escape the persecution.There was no perch free from the jays.The noise, of course, was terrific. There’s nothing like Blue Jays for alarums and excursions of the vocal kind. The hawk eventually moved on. It’s…
-
Tufted
When last we saw a Tufted Titmouse on this blog, it was eating a dead Winter Wren. That was surprising. But here we’re back to a more regular diet, of seeds and nuts in winter; this bird briefly emerged from a thick conglomeration of shrubbery with something edible in bill.There were three in the thicket,…
-
Revealed by The Fall
One day this summer I saw and heard several Baltimore Orioles around this linden. It was so thickly leafed I couldn’t see a nest, but it was pretty clear there was one in there.Woven from grasses and human garbage, suspended like a flapper’s purse. These things always surprise me because they seem so improbable as…
-
Late Skipper
November 7th was a warm day. This skipper could smell the buddleia as well as I could, probably better.The double-barreled tongue can be seen here relatively well.
-
Five Points
A late-blooming, ligulate-headed Asteraceae to grace your groaning board.
-
A Very Warbler Thanksgiving
Debonair male Black-throated Blue, Setophaga caerulescens. They winter mainly in the Caribbean, with some going to the Bahamas and some to the eastern side of the Yucatan. Seen here October 19.While the male BTB sports the same general plumage in the off-breeding as in the breeding season, Palm Warblers (Setophaga palmarum) are much more subdued…
Backyard and Beyond 