Mokka mit Schlag » Birding

Monarch butterfly, Danaus plexippus
Floyd Bennett Field, 2007-09-23

As many monarchs as we see around here, we don’t see too many monarch caterpillars because there isn’t that much (or any) milkweed in most of the parks. I spotted this caterpillar grazing on milkweed on a Brooklyn Bird Club field trip this morning. It’s getting a little late in the season for caterpillars. I hope this fella can metamorphosize and head south before winter hits.
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I didn’t do a lot of birding in Norway this trip–I never did get to the wildife refuge or out into the forest–but I did take my binoculars with me most places, and there were still quite a few birds of interest. I didn’t bring my scope, but I never really needed it. Total species count for the trip was 21 including six life birds:
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This Sunday, September 16, I will be leading a bird walk in Prospect Park for the Brooklyn Bird Club. We meet at the Grand Army Plaza entrance at 8:00 A.M. by the Stranahan statue. (Just look for the folks holding binoculars.) Fall migration is in full swing so we should see lots of good birds and quite a few confusing Fall warblers.

Everyone is invited. Preregistration is not required. If you’re coming from outside the neighborhood, take the 2-3 train to Eastern Pkwy, and walk down the hill past the library and cross Flatbush Ave. and you’ll be right there. (You can also get out at Grand Army Plaza and walk around the circle, but I usually find it a little easier to go one stop further and walk back. )

Common European Honeybee, Apis mellifera
Brooklyn Botanic Garden, 2007-09-01
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Last night I was walking through Battery Park on my way to a meeting when I noticed an unbelievably large bird strutting around the grass, apparently unconcerned with all the people, most of whom were equally unconcerned with it. It was, to all appearances, a Wild Turkey. This is the first one I’ve ever seen in Manhattan and only the second I’ve seen in New York City. (The first was in a remote corner of the Bronx Botanical Gardens in the late-eighties/early nineties.)

I called it in to the rare bird alert, but apparently turkeys aren’t rare enough to qualify, even if they’re locally rare in downtown Manhattan. Lloyd Spitalnik did tell me one had been seen at this location last year too, so it may be the same bird returning.
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Wool Carder Bee, Anthidium manicatum
Brooklyn Botanic Garden, 2007-08-25
Thanks to John S. Ascher for the ID.
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