If you have any doubt that some species of birds are highly intelligent, watch what this crow does. What the bird is doing is very different from performing a trained act; the bird is actually solving a multi-step puzzle it’s never seen before. This bird was also mentioned in my interview with the author of The Bird Way, Jennifer Ackerman.
Thanks to YouTuber rationalstabs
And forgive the recent Blowin in the Wind discombobulation. It will return to its regularly scheduled time, tomorrow.
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American Wigeon, another lifer for me: eyepatch, green neck, white beak with dark tip.
Marine Park Salt Marsh
Brooklyn, New York
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Barn swallow, with its characteristic forked tail, and its young fledgling
Prospect Park
Brooklyn, New York
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We were sitting on a playground bench enjoying the children playing in the fountains, and watching a cute baby sparrow hopping in front of us.
In a moment, a large red-tailed hawk swooped down, grabbed the sparrow, and took him up to the tree you see above. You can see some of the remains of the sparrow in the hawk’s claws.
The next day, I went back to the area and though I didn’t see the hawk again, a birder told me that the children’s playground was a regular part of that hawk’s territory.
Marine Park Playground
Brooklyn, New York
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Coney Island
Brooklyn, New York
***
Who has not looked up in the sky at birds and wished they could fly? Jennifer Ackerman has spent a good part of her adult life thinking about and writing about birds and the natural world. She is the author of eight books including a favorite of mine, The Genius of Birds. Her latest book is called The Bird Way: A New Look at How Birds Talk, Work, Play, Parent, and Think. I was pleased to talk with her on Arts Express and learn some startling stories about birds .
Click on the triangle or mp3 link above to hear my interview with Ms. Ackerman, as broadcast today on radio station WBAI FM NYC and Pacifica affiliates across the country.
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Marine Park Salt Marsh
Brooklyn, New York
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A first for me. Despite the green head, the red flanks and the dark flat bill distinguish it from a mallard.
Marine Park Salt Marsh
Brooklyn, New York
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Red-winged Blackbird
Marine Park Salt Marsh
Brooklyn, New York
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Yellow-crowned Night Heron
Marine Park Salt Marsh
Brooklyn, New York
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Yellowlegs ( a new one for me)
Greater Yellowlegs or Lesser Yellowlegs? I don’t know.
“At first glance, the two species of yellowlegs look identical except for size, as if they were put on earth only to confuse birdwatchers.” Audubon Guide to North American Birds
Marine Park Salt Marsh
Brooklyn, New York
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Red-breasted Merganser female
Sheepshead Bay
Brooklyn, New York
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Prospect Park
Brooklyn, New York
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… a Wood Duck (a first for me!)
Prospect Park
Brooklyn, New York
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Sheepshead Bay
Brooklyn, New York
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Sheepshead Bay,
Brooklyn, New York
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Sheepshead Bay,
Brooklyn, New York
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Sheepshead Bay
Brooklyn, New York
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Marine Park Salt Marsh
Brooklyn, New York
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Jardin Botanique
Deshaies, Guadeloupe
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Deshaies, Guadeloupe
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Female Lesser Antillean Bullfinch enjoying passion fruit on the living room table.
Deshaies, Guadeloupe
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Le Jardine Botanique
Deshaies, Guadeloupe
More Lynda Barry at https://www.drawnandquarterly.com/author/lynda-barry
and
http://www.adambaumgoldgallery.com/
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Innisfree Garden
Millbrook, New York
