Diptera are the only things out and about now, and just barely. This fly was on the Dead Horse Bay beach the other day.
A gnat landed on my nose yesterday as I walked down the street.
Flies are hard to ID when they are not in hand. Out of a total of 80 iNaturalist Diptera observations, I have 24 identifications that are research grade.
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The coyotes are coming. In fact, they’re already here. Here being NYC, specifically the Bronx — which is part of the mainland and abuts coyote-rich Westchester Co. — and Queens, which is only connected to America by bridges and tunnels. 45 individual coyotes have been charted in this study of our new neighbors. It’s a certainty they will show up in Brooklyn, which borders Queens. However, this single Kings County iNaturalist observation isn’t very convincing.
I saw one in Woodlawn in the Bronx years ago. It was in the middle of the afternoon. My friends were just waking up from a nap… why yes, they did lay down in the cemetery to nap. The coyote looked at me and I looked at the coyote. On our way, we said “We saw a coyote!” to the gate-keeper. He was very Blasé about, saying they crossed the road from Van Cortlandt Park.
A reputable source still has the best local sighting, however: a berg of ice headed down the Hudson with a coyote on one end and two bald eagles on the other.
American Oystercatchers (Haematopus palliatus) are starting to appear on the coast. Here’s a pair from the weekend.
Local nesters, they make nests on beaches and dunes, which isn’t so good, considering beach crowds, unleashed dogs, four-wheeled vehicles (not at DHB, tho’) and other slings and arrows.
Now here’s something you don’t see in Dead Horse Bay everyday. 
This is a drake Black Scoter (Melanitta americana), a not uncommon sea duck, yet I’ve never seen one in any part of Jamaica Bay before. I’ve also never seen one alone, so I wondered if it was ill or hurt; but he seemed to preen and fly perfectly fine. This was my best-ever view of one of these diving ducks. The female is browner and lacks the swollen orange-yellow knob on the bill.
Backyard and Beyond 