Molt time for hawks

It's mid-September, which tends to be the "quiet" time of year for our local red-tailed hawks. The breeding season is done, the youngsters have gone off on their own, and it's still too early for the next nesting cycle to begin. I like to think of it as vacation time for the hawks, and for me, as I take a little breather after an intense summer of hawk documentation.

I've not had any news regarding the Tompkins Square hawk fledgling who was/is staying at the Raptor Trust in New Jersey. As far as I know, it is doing well.

For now, I thought I'd post about molting. Starting in early to mid summer, the adult hawks begin their summer molt, where they shed their old feathers and grow a brand new set. This usually takes several weeks, and the hawks can look kind of disheveled as they go through the process.

This is Amelia in August. You can see that she's growing two new outer tail feathers (the little short ones), as well as a few primary feathers on her wings. Her head looks very white as she has lost many of her dark brown head/facial feathers.

This is Christo and Amelia in July. Amelia (right) doesn't look too bad, but Christo (left) has a raggedy looking head.

This is another shot of Christo in July where his face is molting quite a bit. All the little white splotches are downy feathers falling out. When he preened, it looked like he was snowing feathers.

To compare, this is how Christo normally looks in the spring. He usually has a neat and sleek appearance.

Here is Christo at his worst, LOL. He only has half his tail feathers (there are 12 in a complete set), there are gaps in his wings, and he looks very pale and almost sickly. Despite his appearance, he's perfectly healthy and functional.

This is Christo, again looking pale, and shedding some body feathers.

His head molt is more obvious in the sunlight. The area around his eyes looks messy.

He knows he's still handsome, though.

Adding to the spooky look, Christo shows us his nictitating membrane, allowing him to observe us through the glare of the sun.

This is Christo last year, mid-molt.

The resident female red-tailed hawk of Governors Island is a good example of a dramatic molter. This is how she normally looks:

And this is her mid-molt with feathers coming out of her face, back and wings.

By October, all the hawks should have all their brand new feathers, looking good once again.

Bird highlights of the week

Fall bird migration is underway, so we're starting to see a lot of new birds around the city. Below are some recent highlights from my outings.

This Mourning Warbler was just hanging out with the lunch crowd in Bryant Park in Midtown:

And this male Hooded Warbler attracted a lot of attention as he hunted insects in front of the NY Public Library on 5th Avenue.

For a tiny little guy, he really stood out with his bright yellow and black plumage.

I somehow managed to catch this Eastern Kingbird in flight as it chased flying insects.

A Northern Parula, one of my favorite warblers:

A Magnolia Warbler showing us its streaky flank:

A little Lincoln's Sparrow foraging in some grass:

This was my first sighting of an American Avocet in New York. This one was hanging out at Jamaica Bay Wildlife Refuge in Queens.

This little Semipalmated Plover was hopping around on just one leg, but seemed to be managing.

Greater Yellowlegs at Jamaica Bay:

And, believe it or not, my first Whimbrel:

I've seen more American Oystercatchers in the last couple of weeks than ever before. I love their calls - they always sound so excited.

This is my first Merlin of the fall season, who caught a bird (house sparrow?) and posed with its prey before taking off with it.

Summer insects - Part 4

Suddenly September!

Although the bulk of summer has come and gone, we still have many summer insects in the city. Below are some recent favorites. 

Trigger warning: there are some (non-insect) spider photos at the end of the post.

Cute little Skipper in Green-Wood Cemetery, Brooklyn:

This is a Common Meadow Katydid nymph on Governors Island. It's extremely tiny - barely the size of my pinky nail. As they were jumping around in the grass, they looked like fleas.

Check out the enormously long antennae on this one. The insect was so small, I didn't see the antennae until I enlarged my photo.

Pretty emerald-colored Sweat Bee:

This Long-Legged Fly is another tiny creature, but is really beautiful when viewed close up.

Green Bottle Fly:

Common Buckeye butterfly:

A pair of Eastern Pondhawks mating. The male is the blue one up top, and the female is bright green and has her abdomen curled under the male. They will then take off from this perch and the male will dip the female into the water so she can lay her eggs.

These dragonflies were laying eggs in one of the water features at Green-Wood Cemetery. As they did this, turtles who were lurking below the water's surface would snatch them. This kept happening, but I wasn't able to get a photo as the turtles were so quick...and terrifying!

Female Pondhawk:

This is a Marl Pennant Skimmer and was not seen in NYC, but further south when I took a trip. They generally do not venture north of Virginia in the East.

 

Spiders below...

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

I wait all year to find these little guys, and this year, I found more than I ever have before, which I hope is a good sign. These are Bold Jumpers, and they are also only about the size of my pinky nail.

They noticed me right away and would skitter away if I moved too much, so I stood back about four feet and had to use my telephoto lens to get these pics. A macro lens would reveal more of their beautiful details, like the iridescent greenish-blue mouth parts.

It's hard to see in this photo, but the spider has several eyes and it looks like they circle back around the head.

This informative video has some really nice footage of a jumper, and is a good starting point for getting to know these cool little creatures.