Despite a lot of rain this fall, there were still opportunities to see some spectacular foliage around the city this season. Below are some highlights from Brooklyn, the Bronx, and Governors Island.
Green-Wood Cemetery:
This was Governors Island last week. It's worth noting the beautiful trees in this post from 2020 (4th, 5th, and 6th photos down) have been cut down for no apparent reason. They were really gorgeous.
At least we still have this cherry tree, which is lovely in all seasons.
I took a trip to Florida recently and had a wonderful time with the birds down there, seeing several species for the first time.
First up, Sandhill Cranes. I'd previously seen them in captivity, but never in the wild, so this was really exciting for me.
In the photo below, the crane out front on the left is missing a foot. These two flew over a wetland area where I was standing, but they didn't land, so I never found out how this crane dealt with its missing foot while foraging on the ground.
After a traumatic experience with mosquitoes from hell on a trail on the gulf coast, I was rewarded with this scene of a Great Egret, White Ibises, and a Roseate Spoonbill hanging out together at a pond.
Again, I'd previously seen Spoonbills in captivity, but never in the wild, so this was a magical moment. I might never have stumbled upon this scene if the monstrous mosquitoes (I am not kidding!) hadn't chased me there.
Egret in the sun:
Spoonbill flying at sunset:
Ibises flying on a bright afternoon:
A string of Ibises fly to their roosting island at sunset:
A trio of Brown Pelicans prepare to dive for fish late in the evening:
These guys are always spectacular, and there will be more photos of them coming soon.
In the mean time, you can see photos from some previous Florida birding trips here and here.
Where did the summer go? We're already a week into October and I'm still waiting for September to start, lol. Anyway, it's a good time to round out the hawk season with the last photos I have of the Tompkins Square red-tail fledglings.
The hawk was seen by observers over the next couple of days, but we were unable to track her movements until September 19, when she was found on E 2nd Street and was taken back into rehab. To date, she is still with WINORR.
This is one of the other fledglings:
And this is a young hawk seen in Tompkins who is not the offspring of residents Christo and Amelia. As fledglings from all over begin their journeys of exploration, it's not uncommon for some to pass through this area. At the time, Christo was acting territorial and chasing this hawk out of the park, which was a clue that it was not one of his kids.
The physical characteristics of this hawk are also very different from any of the three fledglings. Most notably, this hawk has a distinct facial pattern and light "eyebrow" that none of the other fledglings have. It is also very slender whereas the two older Tompkins fledglings were pretty large with broad chests. When this hawk was spotted, Fledgling #3 had already been taken out of the park.
This hawk was actively hunting, but didn't pay any mind to the squirrel who kept aproaching it on the branch.
With so much attention paid to the fledglings all summer, I kind of neglected posting photos of parents, Amelia and Christo. This is Amelia looking pretty in a tree:
This is Amelia staring down from the roof of St Brigid's church on Avenue B.
This is Christo on the cross of St Brigid's:
And, this is Christo sailing off the top of St Brigid's to go take care of hawk business.
Meanwhile, another hawk in another part of the city takes in the sunset.
The 2023 season saw 37 known red-tailed hawk nests in NYC. Let's make the 2024 season even more successful by providing a safe and healthy environment for our amazing urban wildlife.
Nature can be beautifully horrifying, and today's nightmarish double feature comes to you from Green-Wood Cemetery in Brooklyn, an otherwise serene and magical place.
I was walking along a path on a recent afternoon when I saw a large insect flying towards me, then landing in a fir tree.
Hello, what's this?
As my brain pulled the image into focus, the true horror of the situation dawned on me. This is a female Cicada Killer Wasp who has just caught her prey.
The wasp clutched the cicada as she hung from the fir tree by one leg. The cicada spasmed a few times, but appeared to already be paralyzed by her sting. As I reached for my video camera, the wasp flew away, but not before I was able to get a few photos. In the one below, I think the wasp looks pretty pleased with her catch, which she presumably took to her burrow to feed to her offspring.
One insect I'm less fond of is the Spotted Lantern Fly. Here's one of those suckers now:
And I do love dragonflies, especially the Blue Skimmers who seem to be the easiest to photograph as they perch for long spells and are not very timid.
So, what happens when a Blue Skimmer meets a Spotted Lantern Fly?
I found out when, once again, I saw a large insect flying towards me. It looked like a dragonfly carrying something...indeed, it had a lantern fly in its clutches!
Having your face eaten off by a dragonfly has got to be one of the more horrible ways to leave this world.
The lantern fly was not yet dead at this point, struggling as the dragonfly bit into its neck (or what ever that part is that is between the head and body).
I guess I do feel bad for the lantern fly, but am glad to see a dragonfly preying on them. Until this day, I had not seen anything eating these invasive insects, so it's a good thing that our local predators are catching on that these make good meals. Since then, I've also see a Great Crested Flycatcher feasting on a lantern fly.
After it was done eating, the dragonfly discarded the wings, which you can see in the photo below as the blurry red blob in the background.
I was able to get video this time, which you can see here:
