urbandinosaurs

urbandinosaurs, 19 hours ago to Birds

An unhappy raven chick, wanting more food. But—in this clip, it looks like it’s eating something left in the nest. Deposited, per the previous post? Leftovers? Random pecking? I can't tell. (Aside: I was using a back-up tripod (because reasons). It reminded me of why I spent a fair amount of money on a good one…)
#birds #wildlifePhotography #birdCPP #wildlifeVideo

A raven chick, moving back and forth around the nest. At one point, though, its head movements suggest that it is eating something out of my field of view.

urbandinosaurs, 20 hours ago to Birds

I spent a while this afternoon with my camera on a tripod pointed at the raven's nest on the Cathedral of St. John the Divine in NYC. (Aside: I had thought there were two chicks, but I only saw one. Either I was wrong, the other has fledged, or it met with some mishap.) Here are two parental visits where I did not see the chick being fed—but see the video in the next post. Also note the chick playing with some dried grass.
#birds #wildlifePhotography #birdCPP

The chick has a piece of dried grass or some such in its beak, waving it around.
An adult raven is perched on the saint’s head, bending all the way forward as if it is depositing something in the nest.
The chick looking all around, waiting for a parent to come back with food.

urbandinosaurs, 2 days ago to Birds

Finally: a Swainson's thrush, a bay-breasted warbler, and a water thrush—I'm not sure if it's a northern or a Louisiana water thrush.
#birds #wildlifePhotography #birdCPP

A ¾ left profile view of the bird on a thin branch.
A ¾ right profile view of the bird on a log, with water in the background.

urbandinosaurs, 2 days ago to Birds

Oh, what the heck; let me post more now. All at the Pool in NYC's Central Park: a male and a female common yellowthroat warbler, a magnolia warbler, and a black-throated blue warbler.
#birds #wildlifePhotography #birdCPP

A more-or-less upside down warbler on a thin stem of some plant, among many other green plants and leaves.
A right profile view of the warbler on a very thin branch.
The warbler is bathing in shallow water.

urbandinosaurs, 2 days ago to Birds

A few of my pictures from yesterday (more coming tomorrow…). The first three are from Central Park in NYC: a great egret that has just speared a fish on both parts of its beak (Harlem Meer), a spotted sandpiper (Pool), and a black-and-white warbler (also Pool). Last, at the Cathedral of St. John the Divine, two common raven chicks in a nest behind St. Andrew's head. They're getting big!
#birds #wildlifePhotography #birdCPP

A sandpiper walking along, just in the water from a sandy/rocky short. The reflection of the bird in the water is visible.
There is a moderately thick branch ascending at a 45༠ angle. The warbler is on the side of the branch, facing head-down.
There is a large nest behind the saint’s head. Two ravens are visible to the right side of the head. One is mostly obscured; the other is very visible.

urbandinosaurs, 6 days ago to Birds

A lovely day at Central Park in NYC. First, female and male scarlet tanagers (with a lot of birders waiting for them to reappear). Next, a northern parula; finally, a female rose-breasted grosbeak.
1/2
#birds #birdCPP #wildlifePhotography

The tanager is in very shallow water, with mud around. His head is turned to the right and his beak is open.
A left profile view of the parula, on a very thin branch of some coniferous tree.
A left profile view of the grosbeak. She’s on a mud bank just behind the water.

urbandinosaurs, 10 days ago to astrophotography

Sunspots! According to spaceweather.com, the big sunspot just below and left of center is visible to the naked eye. I don't have my eclipse glasses handy, but I did have the solar filter for my camera available.
#astrophotography

urbandinosaurs, 12 days ago to Birds

A red-winged blackbird, two Canada geese with six goslings, a red admiral, and a yellow-rumped warbler.
#birds #wildlifePhotography

In the foreground, there is grass; behind it, there is a dirt (and puddle) area. One adult and two goslings are on the edge of the grass; the remaining geese are on the dirt. One gosling is laying down; the other five are pecking at the ground.
A butterfly with its wings spread on some dried, dead grass.
The warbler is on a ~3cm branch that has some leaves. Behind it, there is a tree trunk.

urbandinosaurs, 12 days ago to Birds

A northern flicker.
#birds #wildlifePhotography

urbandinosaurs, 16 days ago to Birds

A few more picture from today, at State Line Lookout on the Palisades Parkway. In one sense, it's a highway rest area. But there are a number of hiking trails and some excellent viewing areas overlooking the Hudswon River. In fact, it's so popular that there is often metered parking—which sure isn't like any other highway rest area I've ever seen.
So: an osprey eating a fish, a turkey vulture in flight, a pair of black vultures perched, and a decrepit building.
#birds #wildlifePhotography

The vulture is soaring.
A pair of vultures, perched in (of course) a dead tree. They’re both looking off to the side and down.
A decrepit house in the woods, of weathered brown wood. Much of the roof is gone, and the door is missing. Inside are what appear to be shipping pallets. There are a pair of windows off to the right; the glass appears to be intact. There is a cupola on top of the roof, apparently as a ventilation area.

urbandinosaurs, 16 days ago to Birds

I spent much of today taking pictures. I first went to Richard DeKorte Park in the New Jersey Meadowlands. The park—well, let's put it like this; there are methane release pipes around the place and one gets there via Disposal Road. But there are lots of birds. So: a tree swallow, a pair of tree swallows in courtship behavior, a herring gull that has scored a crab, and a yellowlegs (but I'm not sure if it's a greater or lesser yellowlegs). 1/2
#birds #wildlifePhotography

A pair of tree swallows atop a nesting box. They both have their mouths open, behavior called “gaping”.
A left profile view of the gull. Its head is turned to the left; it has a crab in its beak.
A left profile view of the bird wading in the water.

carpingdiem, 19 days ago to Birds

The Cooper's hawk dropped by at lunchtime, looking for a bird to lunch on, erm, with. It didn't find any and left straightaway. #birds #birding #birdsofmastodon #hawk #birdphotography #HoosierMast

urbandinosaurs, 22 days ago to Birds

I was in Midtown Manhattan today, so I visited the southern part of Central Park. A double-crested cormorant posed nicely on a branch in the water, while a great egret was preening itself on a branch. Meanwhile, in the Hallet Sanctuary, a raccoon was perched on top of a frequent hangout for them. This is the third straight trip to Central Park where I've seen raccoons during the day, in three different parts of the park, so I guess it is normal for them.
#birds #wildlifePhotography #birdCPP

A great egret with windblown feathers, perched on a branch. The upper part of the background is dark; the lower part is green and leafy.
A raccoon perched atop a dead tree, looking down. The background is backlit green leaves.

urbandinosaurs, 26 days ago to Birds

This morning was fun: I got to indulge in my favorite hobby, bird photography, as part of my job: showing someone around the Columbia University area. So: we went to Central Park, started at the Pool, walked through the Loch, and ended up at the Harlem Meer.
1/2
#birds #wildlifePhotography #birdCPP

A double-crested cormorant swimming across greenish water.
Two raccoon by a stream, with their noses to each other. One is on some rocks at the edge; the other is partly in the water.
A hermit thrush in front of a bush with large, green leaves.

urbandinosaurs, 26 days ago to Birds

In NYC's Central Park: a yellow-rumped warbler at the pool, a tree swallow in flight over the Harlem Meer while an osprey watches from high above, and a common raven atop a stone cross at the Cathedral of St. John the Divine.
1/2
#birds #wildlifePhotography #birdCPP

A swallow swooping low over the water.
A profle of an osprey on a high tree overlooking the water.
The raven is perched on top of a stone crucifix. There are white birds droppings down the side of the cross.

urbandinosaurs, 27 days ago to Birds

A lovely afternoon in NYC's Central Park. Best of all was a rusty blackbird, a lifer for me. There was also a red-winged blackbird, making its less-than-lovely noises, a hermit thrush, and an eastern towhee, the latter two being my first-of-season. 1/2
#birds #wildlifePhotography #birdCPP

The blackbird is on a branch with its beak open.
A right profile view of the thrush. It’s on bare ground with some dead leaves around it.
A left profile view of the towhee, It’s on a rock outcrop, with dead leaves in a cleft behind it.

urbandinosaurs, 1 month ago to Birds

A northern flicker, first pretending it's a real woodpecker by perching on a vertical trunk (and note the yellow underfeathers) and then on a rock outcropping. Next, a pair of female yellow-bellied sapsuckers. Before this, they were on the same tree and one drove the other off.
#birds #wildlifePhotography #birdCPP

A profile view of the left side of the flicker.
The sapsucker is getting ready to drill into a vertical trunk. Its tail is braced against the trunk for better leverage.
The trunk this bird is on is tilted about 20-30༠ off vertical. The bird has its head tilted towards me, showing its bright red plumage. Note the horizontal line of holes at the top of the the trunk—that’s characteristic of yellow-bellied sapsucker drilling patterns.

urbandinosaurs, 1 month ago to Birds

A pair of yellow-bellied sapsuckers in New York's Morningside Park (possibly the same on; the two trees were close), and a common raven atop a building and then leaving it. Sadly, it was on some scrollwork and not on a bust of Pallas, let alone one above my chamber door.
#birds #wildlifePhotography #birdCPP

The sapsucker is looking straight up; the trunk it is perched on is tilted perhaps 15༠ from vertical.
A left profile view of the raven, perched on some scrollwork at a roof edge. It’s leaning forward, as if about to take off.
The raven has just taken off from the scrollwork. Its legs are already retracted; its wings are outstretched and separated at the ends.

urbandinosaurs, 1 month ago to Birds

A pair of ravens on the edge of a roof of a lower section of the Cathedral of St. John the Divine in New York City. They seemed to take turns preening each other; later, one flew to the nest and then entered it.
#birds #wildlifePhotography #birdCPP

The raven that was laying down is now stretching out to preen the other one, which has its back towards the camera.
Both ravens are standing up on the edge of the flashing, with their backs mostly towards the camera. They’re basically facing each other.
The raven is standing on the upraised hand of what I’m told is a statue of St. Andrew. You can see the nest behind his head.

urbandinosaurs, 1 month ago to Birds

In Central Park this afternoon, an eastern phoebe, a red-winged blackbird, a common grackle, and a wind-blown great egret. I had thought the grackle was collecting nesting material, but later pictures in the sequence show it without anything in its beak.
#birds #wildlifePhotography #birdCPP

A right profile view of a blackbird, with its head towards me. It is perched on the very end of a thin reed; there are others behind it.
The grackle has what appears to be dried grass in its beak. It is standing near the water, amidst some green shoots; in front of it is lower growth.
A left profile view of the egret. It’s standing on a ~10 cm thick branch, with its back towards a leafy section. The wind is blowing its feathers around. Its neck is mostly retracted.