This bird was too big and noisy to miss — about a foot long, and announcing its presence with repeated loud calls of kyeer as it eyeballed a little pile of raisins and peanut bits I had left on a fence post for the cardinals and robins. Although flickers eat mainly insects, they also take […]
Tag: New York
Butterfly Dream
“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 […]
Equinox Eve
Tonight is the last night of winter! Doubtless these two raccoons I saw sitting in a tree last week looking down on snow-covered Central Park in New York City, will welcome the warmer season. Here’s my favorite welcome spring poem “When the Hounds of Spring” by Algernon Charles Swinburne: For winter’s rains and ruins are […]
Defender of Raisins
One day last week there was a mockingbird perched outside my window in the cold, first thing in the morning. I opened up and threw some raisins on the surface of the snow. The mockingbird was eating when all of a sudden a robin appeared. The robin flew in so close that the mockingbird had […]
Ruddy Turnstone
I see ruddy turnstones in the nicest places — ocean beaches, mud flats, jetties, rocky shores, and boat docks. There are usually a few of them around New York and New Jersey in winter. I saw these in Cape May, New Jersey. They can be found wintering on the coasts of five other continents, too: […]
Red-necked Grebe
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 […]
Winter Continues
It is still cold in New York City! This mourning dove (Zenaida macroura) was sitting on my porch today with its feathers puffed up, hanging out and keeping warm.