Governor’s Island
-
Autumn Meadows
Fat grasshoppers and noisy crickets. Bumblebees built for cooler weather. Darting moths stirred up by our presence. Palm Warblers absent the rufus polls of springtime, but their tails as derrick-like as ever. A falcon shoots by, too quick for us. We curse the god-damned helicopters, a constant curse over the island.And a few days later…
-
Fly Bird
Perched on the edge of the dry moat surrounding Fort Jay, this Eastern Phoebe (Sayornis phoebe) was one of several to be seen the other day darting around the old defenses hawking insects out of the air.This juvenile — note the touch of yellow on the belly — was on the Crescent Water in Green-Wood.…
-
Scat Hill
Rat scat if I’m not mistaken. Scatologists, what say you? Found at the top of the taller of the two new hills on Governor’s Island. Seventy feet above sea-level according to the marker. A panorama from the height. In the distance from the left: Jersey City, Manhattan, Brooklyn. (Click for a larger version.) You can…
-
Tiny Hopper
I think this a nymph Differential Grasshopper (Melanoplus differentials). In the high grasslands of Governor’s Island, which were also filled with Seven-spotted Lady Beetles.
Backyard and Beyond 