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More Birds

May 7, 2015
Photos, Wildlife
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I took so many pictures yesterday, including flowers and landscapes, I’ve decided to just concentrate on some of my “birding” pictures. Right now, on the East Coast of the U.S., in the mid-Atlantic states, we are having what is known as “the warbler migration.” The wood-warblers, family Parulidae, are small song birds many of whom winter in the Caribbean, southern Florida and eastern Mexico. Central Park, as it happens, is a great place to look for birds. There is a lake in the park, and immediately to the north of the lake is a wooded area known as “the Ramble.” This is the prime place to go to look for warblers. I’m new to this, and I only saw a few species, and got photos of fewer.

Remember That Duck?

May 7, 2015
Photos, Wildlife
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I went to the park again. Under a tree, eating some seeds were two ducks. One was the oddly colored duck that I saw a few weeks ago.

Dark-Duck

A typical male Mallard was with her.

Two-DucksI may be jumping to conclusions, but in my mind the other duck is the same male I saw before and the dark duck is a female.

I also got some nice pictures of a pair of geese, one on a nest and another standing at a distance.

A Strange Duck

April 13, 2015
Photos, Wildlife
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I went for a walk in the park today with my camera. The weather was beautiful and I’d been meaning to get out. Over the next few weeks, we should be having the warbler migration. In fact, I saw a Yellow-rumped warbler today. Hopefully, within a few days I’ll be able to put up some of the pictures. I got lots of them. Mainly birds, but some turtles and squirrels as well. I saw a flicker, which always makes me happy for some reason.

For now, however, I wanted to put up a picture of a bird I can’t identify.

strange-duckObviously, it’s a duck of some sort, but what type of duck. It just so happens he or she was swimming alongside a male Mallard.

two-ducksTheir profiles look very similar. I couldn’t help wondering if this could possibly be a melanistic Mallard. Has anyone heard of such a thing?

The Black Squirrels of New York

January 5, 2015
Photos, Wildlife
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The weather was very mild today, and I decided to take advantage of it to go out and photograph some of the city’s famous black squirrels. I first saw them in Union Square Park when I was a teenager.

If you don’t know about them, they are just normal Gray Squirrels that happen to be a darker color than is typical. It’s an example of melanism. It’s inherited and, since many parks in New York are comparatively isolated by block of concrete, populations of black squirrels will tend to be more common in certain parks than others. A year or two ago, I was walking with my mother near Tompkins Square Park when we saw a black squirrel. I was originally going to head there, but the L train stop on First Avenue is right next to Stuyvesant Town, adjacent to a related development called Peter Cooper Village where black squirrels have been seen. So, I decided to take a detour through Stuyvesant Town first.

Black-Squirrel-on-Step

I didn’t get far into the development before I saw a black squirrel rummaging through some leaves. I approached quietly and cautiously. It wasn’t necessary. As soon as the squirrel saw me, he came bounding up to me. I should have figured. It’s New York City and the squirrels are little hustlers. Fortunately, I had come provisioned with some hazelnuts in the shell. I’ve always found these to be a favorite of squirrels.

Black-Squirrel-under-Tree

A gray squirrel nearby saw our exchange and came running over. He got a nut, too. It didn’t feel right to only give nuts to the black squirrels.

Grey-Squirrel

I walked around the building to an open space near the center of the development. It seems that a good third of the squirrels are black. It was no problem finding them.

This peanut must have come from someone else.

This peanut must have come from someone else.

Some of the black squirrels are darker than others. I noticed that quite a few of them had lighter, brown bellies.

Grey-Squirrel-in-Tree

September 15, 2014
Photos, Wildlife
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Yesterday, I took a walk through the park and I saw some people standing on a bridge watching the animals. Today, I went back with my camera.

I went to Central Part to photograph some rats I saw the other day.
Birds were bathing in the stream.
A Grackle stopped by.
A Blue Jay abandoned all decorum.
A streak of gray and yellow attracted my attention.
It was an American Redstart, a new bird for me.
She too wanted a bath.
This Robin lurked arond the edges of the water before taking the plunge.
There appeared to be an entire family of rats living beneath some ferns.
Of course, let’s not forget the bees.

Fourth of July Photos

July 9, 2014
Photos, Wildlife
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The following photos were taken at my sister’s place over the Fourth of July weekend.

I like this photo because it's easy to see that what we perceive as a "flower" in the Aster family is really made up of many tiny flowers. You can see that several along the outside have open while most in the center are still closed.

I like this photo because it’s easy to see that what we perceive as a “flower” in the Aster family is really made up of many tiny flowers. You can see that several along the outside have opened while the rest in the center are still closed.

daisy-2

The bird on the left is an adult male Downy Woodpecker and he appears to be feeding his fledgling.

The bird on the left is an adult male Downy Woodpecker and he appears to be feeding his fledgling. The picture’s a little blurry, but I think it’s so adorable when the parents feed the babies.

A few years ago, we planted some Asclepias incarnata in order to attract butterflies. Bumblebees love it as well.

A few years ago, we planted some Asclepias incarnata in order to attract butterflies. Bumblebees love it as well.

 

Here is a closeup of the flowers.

Here is a closeup of the flowers.

We frequently find this cat lurking near the bird feeder. He gets really nasty when you try to chase him away. It's funny because when he's not hunting he rolls on his back and purrs when he sees people.

We frequently find this cat lurking near the bird feeder. He gets really nasty when you try to chase him away. It’s funny because when he’s not hunting he rolls on his back and purrs when he sees people.

The Rudbeckia hirta in the new perennial bed seems to be doing well.

The Rudbeckia hirta in the new perennial bed seems to be doing well.

The blue jay fledgling sits near the bird feeder and cries for his parents to feed him.

The blue jay fledgling sits near the bird feeder and cries for his parents to feed him.

I believe this is a Nuthatch fledgling.

I believe this is a Nuthatch fledgling.

The chipmunk on the left is the friendly one.

The chipmunk on the right is the friendly one. It’s a little scary that I can actually tell them apart.

This is the Red-bellied Woodpecker fledgling. It's hard to see in this picture, but I think it's a male. His parents have had one or two fledglings each year.

This is the Red-bellied Woodpecker fledgling. It’s hard to see in this picture, but I think it’s a male. His parents have had one or two fledglings each year.

 

Two Wrens

April 19, 2014
Photos, Wildlife
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Today I saw a charming sight. Two wrens were at the bird feeder and one was feeding the other. Previously, I’ve only seen one wren alone.two carolina wrens on a bird feeder

Later that day, one of the wrens flew up into a tree and was singing his little heart out.

singing-wren

Action Shots: Squirrels and Robins

April 11, 2014
Photos, Uncategorized, Wildlife
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Twice, on consecutive days, I've seen a squirrel come out of this hole. I'm wondering if there's babies in there.

Twice, on consecutive days, I’ve seen a squirrel come out of this hole. I’m wondering if there are babies in there.

Once squirrel chased another down a tree and across this path. I missed the first squirrel, but here's his pursuer.

One squirrel chased another down a tree and across this path. I missed the first squirrel, but here’s his pursuer.

An American Robin.

Two Robbins foraging on a slope.

Two Robins foraging on a slope.

This is one of the previous two Robbins a few minutes later. He'd (or she) been doing a lot of eating.

This is one of the previous two Robbins a few minutes later. He’d (or she) been doing a lot of eating.

A face-off between two squirrels.

Then one chased the other.

Perhaps he was defending his hoard of nuts. Squirrels are scatters hoarders. The deposit nuts all over the place and it's quite a feat of memory that they can remember where.

Perhaps he was defending his hoard of nuts. Squirrels are scatter hoarders. They deposit nuts all over the place and it’s quite a feat of memory that they can remember where.

The moon.

The moon.

A neighbor's cat. He was crying at a door, but I've seen him go into another house in the past. Then the moment he saw me, he came to get pet.

A neighbor’s cat. He was crying at a door, but I’ve seen him go into another house in the past. Then the moment he saw me, he came to get pet.

I nearly forgot, a saw this bee in a Magnolia.

I nearly forgot, a saw this bee in a Magnolia.

 

Can You Spot the Bird?

April 6, 2014
Photos, Wildlife
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My sister injured her back, so yesterday I went to visit. I brought my camera with me because, as I said to my sister, “If I don’t bring it the animals are sure to do something cute.” So, I sat outside for a time taking photos. I got one picture that made me think about all those pictures you see showing “nature’s wonderful camouflage.” So, go below the fold and see if you can find the bird…

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New Bird: American White Pelican

March 9, 2014
Photos, Wildlife
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There was some excitement for us today. We went to the Blackwater Wildlife Refuge and saw some American White Pelicans. They are not common in this area, so I’m glad my sister was there or I would have thought I was terribly mistaken. The volunteer at the visitor’s center confirmed that the Pelicans have been seen there in recent years. He said a few days ago several people reported seeing a flock of thirty to forty, which seems to be exactly what we saw today.

A flock of pelicans.

Another first for me was a muskrat. I’ve seen their lodges before, but this is the first I’ve seen one the animals.

muskrat

Finally, Blackwater has a lot of Great Blue Herons. We saw several on both visits, but they’re so beautiful, I thought I’d post a picture anyway.

heron

We didn’t see as many different types of birds as we saw last time, although we heard many we didn’t see. Also, we still haven’t seen one of the rare squirrels.