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.

Saying Goodbye to Summer...

     If there is one season I have the hardest time letting go of, it is summer. I like warmth, I like long days, I like green trees and grass, I like wearing shorts, I like my flip flops, I like my sad excuse for a tan. I really despise winter, it is cold and depressing, I really was meant to be a reptile.
     Things are changing not just in the seasons but in my life. For the first time in 7 years I am not working in an establishment that focuses on animals. I have (very sadly) left my job at the Central Park Zoo to focus on my career as a science teacher. So starting Monday morning I will meet my first class of four that I will be teaching. My life is about to get incredibly stressful as a public school teacher in Brooklyn, NY - but it will be a good challenge, and I like challenges!
     So the last 2-3 weeks have been me doing the best that I can to prepare for that very first day. I have had a lot to do, especially after being in the school, seeing the layout of my day, and seeing the students I will have. I decided that this girl needed a meditative moment, and for me, those moments always take me to Prospect Park...

This is what it is always like taking photos of warblers...

Fall warblers: they are here! American Redstart!

A great blue heron on the Lullwater.

A green heron fishes with some pals, some red-eared sliders. 

An immature male wood duck did not like that I sat and watched the green heron. Possibly the same duck I saw last week.

This green heron did not catch anything while I was there, but was always amazingly still. 

I think this is a blackburnian warbler... Fall warblers are notoriously confusing.

This is what a breeding male looks like in spring.

So blurry, but I kind of love it.

The robins were snacking on this sumac tree.

An easy one, a black and white warbler walks up and down tree trunks. This is what they look like in spring.

A common yellowthroat. This is what he looked like in spring.