Green-Wood
-
Raptor Wednesday
Blue Jays and Nuthatches are a reliable source of alarm when a Cooper’s is in the hood. This one was out in the open with prey when I followed the shrieks, but soon retreated to the foliage of a beech. The raptor was plucking. A few of the prey’s feathers fell down to the road…
-
Piranga ludoviciana
A Western Tanager has been in town for almost a week. I got to see him yesterday morning. Even more exciting, the bird called before coming out into the open! Not a call I know in these parts. The bird has been faithfully returning to these sapsucker holes in a yew. He’s picking up insects…
-
So Many Birds
Song Sparrow. Purple Finch. Blue-headed Vireo. Ruby-crowned Kinglet. Golden-crowned Kinglet. Solitary Sandpiper. Solar-and-fish-powered Belted Kingfisher. Dark-eyed Junco. White-crowned Sparrow. White-throated Sparrow. White-breasted Nuthatch. Red-breasted Nuthatch.
-
Cardinals
Heard under a conifer. A baby Northern Cardinal. Clammed up upon seeing me. The bird could scurry and even hop-fly about a foot at a time. There was a parent with a large moth, which she tried to stick in the baby’s mouth several times. Before finally succeeding on the third try. Even all muppet-mouthed,…
-
Mammal Monday
Eastern Chipmunks (Tamias striatus) are few and far between in Green-Wood. I see them there rarely, but the other day a wren-brown spot in the distance, which I thought might, in fact, be a wren, turned out to be this one. There are rather more Chimpmunks in Prospect Park. The closest these two green islands…
-
Squash Vine Borer Moth
Wow! Nectaring on common milkweed, this moth is just a little bigger than a Western Honeybee. Have you ever seen one? I never had until Friday. You might know them from your zucchinis. The caterpillars of Melitta curcurbitae love to eat summer and winter squashes, but if this is your reward, perhaps a little homage…
-
Warblers
Sometimes they land right in front of you. Magnolia Warbler. Other times, most times, not so much. Bay-breasted Warbler. Rather more typical view… Wilson’s Warbler, named after pioneering ornithologist Alexander Wilson. And sometimes, termites reproductives, the winged ones, emerge, and the songbirds fly right overhead hawking them out of the air. (As I was trying…
-
No Regrets For Egrets
This documentary on Jamaica Bay from a few years ago is available for free until the end of the month.
-
Spiders
These small wolf spiders have been in every layer of leaves I’ve looked at closely in Green-Wood for a couple of weeks now. Not grass, leaves, which give them so much cover. So many in the Dell Water I was afraid I’d step on them. They are runners and jumpers. A different species, and found…
-
Weekend Birds
Two pairs of Wood Ducks on the Lullwater. Male Belted Kingfisher above them. Have there been Kingfishers in both Green-Wood and Prospect all winter? When the light hits a Common (ha!) Grackle just right, look out! White-breasted Nuthatch. Pied-bill Grebe. Some Red-winged Blackbirds are back, and, more importantly, they are making noise. Mallard and Ring-necked…
Backyard and Beyond 