Brooklyn
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Seen on recent saunters
Beech nuts and the pods they come in on. At another beech tree, this time a stump, some funky fungus.I like the way one of these “organ pipe” mud-dauber-wasp nests follows the arch here. It will be some months before we see the trees this leafy again.
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Nicrophorus
A carrion beeetle, also known as a sexton beetle, of the genus Nicrophorus, from the Greek for “carrier of the dead.” Found this on a mammal corpse on a path at Dead Horse Bay. The carcass was in curious state; some exposed bones were already whitened, but the main part of the body still had…
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A Bumper Buckeye Crop
There is a single old Yellow Buckeye (Aesculus flava) on the edge of the Long Meadow. I walked by on Tuesday, wondering if there might be any of the big seeds, or buckeyes, still around, or yet to fall. Well, I hit the jackpot. There were many and they had just fallen, so they were…
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Tiny Something
On the Himalaya of my finger, a small whatsit. There were hosts of these in the late autumn heat, probably the last hatch-outs of the year, getting down to business of preserving the species. Diptera? Hymenoptera? Looks waspy to me — where’s Dr. Kinsey when you need him — but I need the eyes of…
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Bold eye-ring
I’m feeling too lazy to identify this bird. I’m just enjoying it. Happens like that sometimes. Updated: voices via various other forms of communication are plugging for a Nashville warbler. I would agree.
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Still Going Strong, But Hurry Up!
These 2-spotted ladybug larvae were still active on Thursday. Time to pupate, kids! Now, here’s something I’m not so sure about: Pupation and eggs generally seem to be set on leaves. These leaves will shortly fall to the ground, many to blow away to who knows where (into the harbor in some cases, in this…
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Skimmer Fore and Aft
Female Twelve-spotted Skimmers (Libellula pulchella) seen on Staten Island and Brooklyn.
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Troglodytes
It’s rare to spot the tiny Winter Wren (Troglodytes hiemalis) out in the open, but this one was most obliging long enough to get a shot or two. They usually prefer damp, shady areas, underneath logs and the like. Note the long bill and what seem like largish toes, the better for poking and scratching…
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Twilight’s Last Gleaming Wood Ducks
We’ve been having some magnificent sunsets lately. This was last night, from the Nethermead. When I crossed over Payne Hill, I found a mess of Wood Ducks still at the far end of the Upper Pool. I went hoping for a repeat of the previous night’s phenomenon, which I heard about from two witnesses: masses…
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Coincidental Juxtaposition
A flash of yellow in a flock of House Sparrows caught my eye in the Nethermead. The bird quickly flew back down to the ground from its temporary perch. Melopsittacus undulatus, no? The same day I saw four Red-tailed hawks kettling above the Lake. Later, one flew low over the Nethermead. And then later still,…
Backyard and Beyond 