A Northern Flicker
1 September 2019
One doesn't expect to see woodpeckers perched like that, but northern flickers are primarily ground-feeders.
Northern flicker
Juvenile Broad-winged Hawks?
3 September 2019
Here are some pictures of a hawk that neither I nor a couple of bird-watching friends can identify for sure. It was a small hawk, smaller than any red-tailed hawk I've ever seen, and the tail feathers don't look right for a red-tail. My guess is that it's a juvenile broad-winged hawk, but it's hard to say for sure. (It was perched in a tree about 8 meter up; while I was watching it, it hopped a couple of times to other trees.)
Broad-winged hawk?
From my Archives: Tierra del Fuego National Park
6 September 2019
I haven't had a chance to get out with my camera lately, so here are a few birds I photographed in southern Argentina five years ago.
Central Park
15 September 2019
I spent a pleasant afternoon wandering through Central Park today. The weather was gorgeous, and there were some nice critters to photograph.
I went looking for the raccoons. A few months ago, I'd seen one perched on top of a dead tree in the Hallett Sanctuary; today, there was not only one on top, there was another with its head sticking out of a hole. I pointed it out to a guy with his young daughter on his shoulders; she pronounced it "very cute"…
Central Park and Morningside Heights
21 September 2019
I'm not likely to get out again for at least a couple of weeks, so I spent a lot of time yesterday and today wandering around Central Park. My primary goal was to photograph some hummingbirds at a location known as "the Oven", but I got many more interesting pictures, including some raccoons I spotted on the way home.
And bird photography can be social: I don't know if I'd have seen the raccoons or the red-tailed hawk were there not others photographing them.
Not very many years ago, my perception of hawks in the city was shaped by all of the attention to Pale Male: clearly, they were very rare. Now, though, there are many. Indeed, it's rare that I don't see one on days that I go looking for them.
Dragonflies
23 September 2019
Here are some dragonflies I saw at the west side of Turtle Pond the other day.
Dragonfly
Monk Parakeets
28 September 2019
I'd heard reports of monk parakeets in Riverside Park at 137th Street, so I decided to bike up there and take a look. Yup!
Monk parakeets are not native to North America, and it isn't completely clear how they got here. But get here they did, and they're thriving. They build big, communal nests, and they're noisy. In fact, I was certain I'd found the right place well before I saw them, because I was hearing a lot of birds I'd never heard before.
Monk parakeet
At the entrance to the park, someone had apparently spilled or dumped a lot of bird seed. A flock of sparrows was feasting on the seeds; they were joined by this cardinal.
Northern cardinal
