Brooklyn
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Hatch Out
The alates, or reproductives, of a termite colony, swarming in advance of flight. These “hatch-outs” fill the air with these four-winged, weakly fluttering critters. Keep your mouth closed… The alates are one of three castes in a termite colony, the others being workers and soldiers. But they’re not ants (Hymenoptera), they’re in the same order…
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Least Bittern
The news went out via twitter and emails yesterday afternoon that a Least Bittern (Ixobrychus exilis) was up a tree in Prospect Park. Unusual: the birds’ habitat is typically the reedy edge of water bodies, and it is generally very elusive. It’s our smallest heron, smaller even than the Green Heron. I’ve only seen one…
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Sunset Park Elm
It’s been a month since I’ve last updated you with a picture of the local American Elm.
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Peregrine Top
My friend Marion has had fun with the #ViewFromTheMoraine. That’s Mike’s Spike there, a notorious Peregrine perch this past winter. I’ve seen less activity there this spring, which could be accounted for by the fact that up to half of all peregrines at any given time now are currently sitting on eggs or feeding their…
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Monk, Oriole
Checking in with the vocal Monk Parakeets (Myiopsitta monachus) of Green-Wood. Still hollering, in general, although this one was quiet for the photo. Year-around residents, they were introduced from the Andes. There are little clusters elsewhere in Brooklyn, but I believe the colony at the Green-Wood gate and the ConEd substation across the street is…
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Some Recent Trees
A return to this young, and therefore low, Tuliptree (Liriodendron tulipifera). Remember how tiny these were back in March?Looking very weedy, several Pawpaws (Asimina triloba) sprout in the Brooklyn Wedding Venue’s Native Flora Garden. The tree turns out to be clonal, explains the sprouts. This is a new tree for me, just barely in range…
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Goslings
Not exactly the middle of the road. But close! There were two families of Canada Goose (Branta canadensis) goslings down at the end on 39th St. this weekend. They were hanging out with the feral cats who infest the area.Both goslings (and their parents, who hissed sinisterly at bipeds) and cats seemed cool about the…
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Spotted Sandpiper
Yesterday, there were half a dozen Spotted Sandpipers (Actitis macularius) around Green-Wood’s Sylvan Water. Another was spotted at the Dell Water. Along with Solitary Sandpipers, this is one of the few sandpiper species that you will find on inland, fresh, waters. I’ve never seen this many at one time. From much farther away, but this…
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A Man, A Plan, Stranahan!
Where are my manners? I’m only just getting to letting you know that I’ll be doing a Jane’s Walk tomorrow, starting at 11 a.m. at the Grand Army Plaza entrance to Prospect Park. We meet at the feet of the statue of James S.T. Stranahan, tucked in just to the left of the drive. A…
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Osprey Galore
Are you old enough to remember when there were a lot fewer Osprey (Pandion haliaetus)? By the 1960s, numbers were grim because of a history of assassination, egg-collecting, and finally DDT, which weakened their eggs so much the birds were actually crushing their own young during incubation. In 1969, there were an estimated 150 breeding…
Backyard and Beyond 