Brooklyn
-
Straight to the Fish
The design on the sidewalk drains, reminding us that our garbage goes straight to the sea.
-
Ravens Again
A pair of Ravens (Corvus corax) sailed on the stiff breeze along the shore of Bush Terminal the other day. This is where I and others have seen and heard them off and on since New Year’s Day. They have an almost floppy wing action, exacerbated by their long finger-like primary feathers. Several hours later…
-
Buggy Days
The Large Milkweed Bug (Oncopeltus fasciatus) on, unsurprisingly, milkweed.Japanese Beetles (Popillia japonica) making more Japanese Beetles in a bed of roses.Bald-faced Hornet (Dolichovespula maculata) drinking dew. Those mighty-wood-chewing jaws!
-
Canada Warbler
Now, that’s an eye-ring!Cardellina canadensis.Heading to the northwestern flank of South America for the winter.
-
Brooklyn: It’s Not Just for Hipsters
A parent and young Woodchuck/Groundhog (Marmota monax). Here’s the youngster, perhaps 2/3rds the size of the adult, who is presumably the mother as males visit burrows to mate but don’t stay around. Both animals were mowing through the grasses, then this one found a nut or fruit. They are eating-machines this time of year, fattening…
-
Hermits
I believe these are Eastern Mud Snails (Ilyanassa obsoleta), which look like rocks until you look closer. There are quite a few of them in Jamaica Bay. And some of them were moving much too quickly. They were, in fact, hermit crabs, who use found snail shells for their own.Hermits don’t have protective shells like…
-
On Plumb Beach
Plumb Beach is off the Belt Parkway between Sheepshead Bay and Flatbush Avenue. The Parks Dept.’s website calls it Plumb; Parks Dept. signs on site call it Plum; it is supposed to be named after Beach Plums (Prunus maritima). It has a unexpected history, although perhaps not for Brooklyn’s wild edges, capped more recently by…
-
Tomorrow’s Beach
Masses of these tiny clams were on their way to becoming Plumb Beach.
-
Weeper
The amazing thing about this city is how every single block is different. Architecturally, socio-economically, you name it, you never know what you will discover. This goes for the plants and animals, too. Parallel, almost back-to-back, in fact, to the block with the giant American Elm is this big, shaggy Willow (Salix). Another great yard…
-
Young Night-herons
A pair of Yellow-crowned Night-herons (Nyctanassa violacea) nested on Governor’s Island this year, a first — in ages, at least. I haven’t seen the nest, but I did run into this youngster over the weekend at Bush Terminal Park. No idea where the natal spot was, of course; YCNH also nest in Jamaica Bay, and…
Backyard and Beyond 