Jamaica Bay
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Tree Swallows
Tachycineta bicolor. The problem is staying on. Remember how the male American Kestrel bunched up his claws so not to dig into his partner’s back? Here, the male bites some head feathers. Ouch!
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Forecast: Birds
A very few of the birds noted on recent trips to Jamaica Bay Wildlife Refuge, Central Park, and Green-Wood Cemetery:Exploration of nest box at Jamaica Bay’s West Pond. Troglodytes aedon. And then suddenly there were three of these bubbly-voiced House Wrens zooming about. But don’t fall for the small-is-cute thing. I reported this collar. Waiting…
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Rust Never Sleeps
Cedar-apple rust (Gymnosporangium juniperivirginianae) just past its peak gelatinous stage on an Eastern Red Cedar (Juniperus virginiana) at Jamaica Bay Wildlife Refuge. These telial horns fire off spores during the wet spring season. The spores float off, perhaps to find a rose family tree like an apple or crabapple (Malus) for the the next stage…
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Let’s Hear It For Humility
“Area Closed/Protected Natural Area.” Just being a fan of the natural world’s beauties doesn’t mean you’re a friend of nature. Some people think their photography or their bird lists are more important than anything else. But no, they aren’t, not by a long shot. Primary is the care, caution, and respect we pay to the…
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How Now, Brown Thrasher?
All three of our regional Mimidae can be found here in New York City. Northern Mockingbirds are year-around regulars, even on the streets and in backyards. The Catbirds swoosh into the parks to breed in spring and their meowing calls and other songs are a major part of the aural landscape of the woods until…
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Blue Monday
Barn Swallow. Hirundo rustica. At Bush Terminal Park. Unusually, there was at least one Tree Swallow (Tachycineta bicolor) with the Barns there that day. I see Trees more commonly at Jamaica Bay Wildlife Refuge, where it’s the Barn who is rare.The blue here is on the greenish side, as it is wont to be depending…
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Savannah Toes
The touch of yellow between eye and bill here is telling, but did you know that Savannah Sparrows (Passerculus sandwichensis) are also notable for their long toes? Those nails look a little long, too. What do you think?
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Red-breasted Nuthatches
A good number of Red-breasted Nuthatches (Sitta canadensis) have been seen in the region this migration, an irregular occurrence for this tiny species of song bird. I heard some a few weeks ago at Green-Wood, but I hadn’t seen any in the feather until Sunday at Jamaica Bay. Two of them were wheedling pine nuts…
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Backyard and Beyond 