Terrace Birdwatching

 Lately to pass time I sit on my (very very tiny) terrace and watch the birds coming into the yard. Being that I am within close proximity to Greenwood Cemetery, the birding isn't the worst in the world, every so often there is something interesting out there.
     Also included is my pet bird Gizmo. Most of my bird watching now is mostly of this guy. He is awesome.
     This post is for you dad, so you can stop bugging me now ;-)  (I say such things with lots of love!)

Gizmo, my Senegal Parrot has been such good company for me and like any pet has been so good to me and keeping me happy. He is a rescue from a local shelter and has been with us just a little less than a year and in that time has accomplished so much. I am so proud of him and love him with much of my heart (it can't be all because there are 6 other pets and a husband I share and love with my heart). 

A male cardinal in the yard, causing a ruckus. 

I often hear mocking birds out in the yard, especially in the night as they continue to sing in the dark. 

A male house sparrow. 

The 2 pigeons in focus are females. They were just hanging out on their window sill.... 

The male pigeon on the far end was strutting his stuff, vocalizing, and really putting on a show for the ladies who do not seem very impressed..

An Endangered Species!

... Not what you were expecting right?

     In their native England, House Sparrows are actually on the decline, as much as 71% since the 1970's!
Learn more here:
Royal Society for the Protection of Birds
The Guardian
The Deccan Herald

I did more (tiny) terrace bird watching, and this little guy was easiest to photograph.

Autumn Parrots

I went for a walk in my neighborhood and happened to have my camera on me. Found some quaker parrots on Fort Hamilton Parkway and E 3rd Street in Brooklyn. They were absolutely beautiful among the fall leaves. I miss that green of summer, so they were a pleasant sight, and glad I had my camera because they were in a small tree and in close range.
I had been hearing them all day outside our apartment so running into them was a nice treat.

Some members of the flock. They were feeding on these fleshy berries of this tree. The cars underneath clanged as they dropped half eaten fruit all over them.

Native to Argentina and from a temperate climate, these parrots stay here all winter and do well. The only threat they pose is to the electric company as they sometimes nest on power lines and can cause power outages.

Yum! 

How lovely is this guy in the last of the autumn leaves?!

More Tiny Terrace Bird Watching...

The elusive house sparrow...

Love the birdy head tilt. Usually when you see birds low to the ground do this, follow their lead, there could be something interesting up above...

My attempt at being "artsy."

I appear to be interrupting something.

I believe this bird is asking me to get his "good side."

The crows were active today, because the lowest bird in this photo is a red tail hawk and they were not happy about it being in the area. Crows are really really intelligent and will do their best to find predators and let them have a piece of their mind until the skiddaddle.

The hawk winging it out.

And the crows follow.

This blue jay is in the corvid family, in other words, it is in the same family as crows. These guys push their weight around too, especially at the feeder.

The Best Worst Weekend Ever

     So in my first year teaching, things have been quite an experience. On the weekend of September 21st, our good friends from college got married and we went all the way upstate to witness the event and have a good time celebrating with them. It was a fantastic wedding and everything went very well - even the rain stayed away until the outdoor ceremony was over. I'd like to think that I sucked all the badness away from their day because boy, did that weekend stink for me...
     It started with leaving Brooklyn at 7pm (and a major emotional breakdown over a pair of jeans, prior to leaving), and arriving to my husband's grandmother's trailer in Lake Pleasant, in the Adirondacks. The power and heat was shut off, so at 1:30 AM, we were sneaking around in the dark trying to turn on heat, water, and power. When we hit the bed, sleep came quickly. We woke up and I swore that we would very much so go on a hike, and we did. During the hike, we somehow left a camera lens on the trail (major, major ouch) and it is gone forever. We also got back from the hike and realized my dresses were still in Brooklyn. We drove an hour to Utica, got a dress at a mall in less than 15 minutes (in and out the door time), drove an hour to the wedding, got ready in a friends room, and all was good. I cried a lot over all the silly things that happened, my husband is the best in keeping calm and not freaking out with or at me, and the wedding was great once we got there and our lives calmed down, wine was good too.

     On the hike we did take, I did forget about the world for a moment and just focused on the fact that my husband and I were up in the ADK in the forest and there were creatures to be found. Well, here's what we found:

Redback salamanders were a common find under logs, rocks, and leaf litter.

Found a red eft (the juvenile stage of the Eastern spotted newt)

When I was five, we took one of these guys home from Lake George, NY. We set him up in a tank, and probably looking back now, it makes sense why he escaped and was never found. These guys are terrestrial and return to the water when they are adults.

Fawn Lake

Not even close to peak, but you can see some fall color.

Found this American toad hopping around just off a trail.

As I released the large toad, I found this much smaller version.

A very cool looking fungus.

I'm sorry, they look like fetus hands in macro. Same fungus as above. This photo is also the reason we lost our lens, switching lenses is a pain in the rear. 

It's like a painting.... but real! 

A hint of autumn.

Oh, Hey.

Holy heck!
So I just started a new career as a New York City Public School Teacher. It has been quite an experience and as much as I am teaching, I am also learning ten times more. It has kept me on my toes and limited my outdoor exposure. Serious respect to teachers, you can never judge the job of a teacher until you step into their shoes (and hopefully they wear comfy shoes, because your feet get crazy tired).

Thankfully, I get a (brief) daily dose of nature. My bike ride commute involves cutting through Prospect Park. So I see things as I whiz by, including all the birders getting a final glimpse of migrants as they make their way south (JEALOUS). I also tend to see the sun rise, and last week, the moon rise after spending almost 12 solid hours at my school, doing what? I can't think back that far.

The following pictures were all taken in the same day- with my iPhone, enjoy the little things I get to enjoy:

A fly sits super still even within close range. The mornings have been cold and this fly can't take off in cool temperatures. He must get some warmth to recharge himself. He looked so beautiful on my landlord's flowers.

The sun rises over the lake at Prospect Park. It is probably just a touch after 7AM.

So this photo does the moon absolutely NO JUSTICE. The moon was rising over the horizon on my way home and it looked so large, I was stopped with a few other lunar admirers. This photo was taken at around 7:15PM

Stay tuned for more soon, I did make a brief escape upstate and even took a moment to see nature-y things!

The Summer Dumping of iPhone Images

The worst thing about having a camera on your phone? You take too many photos.
The best things about having a camera on your phone? You can take a million photos!

     I have way too many images on my phone. These all happened this summer... I will cry as I post them, because I don't want summer to end:

A rather large moth that decided to live in our classroom during summer camp. I dubbed him "James" so that way when a kid would potentially flip out, I'd just say, "Oh, no worries, it's just James the moth." He also camouflaged well with the floor.

At my coworkers picnic wedding, I decided this beetle complemented diamonds quite nicely- you'll notice how this bug bling becomes a personal trend...

A tiny mantis on my hand at my father in-law's house.

While biking to work in Park Slope on Prospect Park Southwest I heard a red tailed hawk, then I looked up and saw him perched on this building. I had to grab a shot.

A fledged robin at the Central Park Zoo in the Central Garden.

This guy got caught in the volunteer room at the zoo. I shut off the light and he flew out and landed right on me. I got him on my hand, grabbed a picture (bug bling) and returned him to a sunny bush where he could warm up.

These bushes right down the street from me got covered in mantids. I have only seen a mantis in Brooklyn one other time, and that was a few years ago.

Mantis Bug Bling. 

A little beetles on a tomato plant in the community garden by the library in Windsor Terrace.

A beautiful dragonfly right outside the Windsor Terrace Public Library.

Oh yeah! AND some videos! First is a snowshoe hare, from when we went to Maine. The other is a Mantid swaying like a leaf down the street here in Brooklyn.