“Once upon a time, I dreamt I was a butterfly, fluttering hither and thither, to all intents and purposes a butterfly. I was conscious only of my happiness as a butterfly, unaware that I was myself. Soon I awakened, and there I was, veritably myself again. Now I do not know whether I was then […]
Here is a bird New Yorkers don’t see every day — a red-necked grebe. It is uncommon enough around New York City to be popping up on rare bird sighting lists. I saw this one in the East River today, between Piers 4 and 5, in Brooklyn Bridge Park. It was diving, disappearing under water […]
This is Delphinia picta, a picture-winged fly. The fly gets its common name from its striking wing pattern; it has two white triangles on the leading edge of each wing and a few decorative white swirls on a shiny brown background. Very attractive! Picture-winged flies lay their eggs in rotten vegetation. The larvae spend a […]
I found a tiny assassin sitting on a yellow flower in Brooklyn Bridge Park last week. It’s an immature, or nymphal, stage of an assassin bug. Assassin bugs are predatory insects in the family Reduviidae. They have long downward-facing beaks that unfold forward. Assassin bugs capture other insects and pierce them with their sharp beaks. […]
I was walking in Brooklyn Bridge Park last week, descending the north-most path in the water gardens. I heard plop plop. Two ducks had slipped from the little bridge into the water. They were two of three almost fully-grown immature mallard ducks with an adult female. They all looked at me for a moment, then […]
The duck couple I wrote about two weeks ago was mating on the pond in Brooklyn Bridge Park again today, Sunday, March 10, 2013. I photographed some of their courtship postures last time. Today I took a few shots of copulation, which is brief and happens in the water. They ended their courtship displays with […]