Catching Flies Over Strawberry Field

An Eastern Wood-Pewee on a Sunny Autumn Day

According to the Cornell Web site, "The olive-brown Eastern Wood-Pewee is inconspicuous until it opens its bill and gives its unmistakable slurred call: pee-a-wee!—a characteristic sound of Eastern summers. These small flycatchers perch on dead branches in the mid-canopy and sally out after flying insects. Though identifying flycatchers can be confusing, pewees are grayer overall, with longer wings, than other flycatchers. They lack the eyerings of the Empidonax species, while they’re less brown (with stronger wingbars) than a phoebe. With a careful look they’re quite distinctive."

Eastern wood-pewee over Strawberry Field, Central Park, Oct. 6, 2016

I got to see this little bird on Oct. 6 behaving as advertised, making forays from a dead bramch, when I was looking for the young hawk in Strawberry Field. The Filming the Feathers video is set to music by Beethoven: the first movement of the Sixth Symphony, arranged for recorder ensemble.

The photos were all taken on Oct. 6.

A Green-Winged Teal, at Last!

Every time I'd read a posting or get a message that there was a green-winged teal at the Reservoir or elsewhere, I'd go to look for the duck and just miss it. I was firmly convinced I'd never see this duck, that my hopes and dreams would be dashed again.

Female green-winged teal at the Meer, Oct. 5, 2016. You can see a bit of the green.

But finally, after a couple of visits to the Meer in Central Park, I spotted the female green-winged teal I'd been told was there. It was a delight to see the little duck, and to get some photos and video. As you can see from the Cornell Web site, this is a very handsome duck and worth looking for.

I have yet to see a male, but now that I've seen the female, maybe my tealless days are over.

Welcome Back, Woody!

A Love Letter to the Prince of the Pond

I have loved a wood duck for more than four years. Woody resides at the Pond in Central Park, and his handsomeness and quirky personality bring me daily to see him and give him some peanuts. I put together a video in 2014 showing Woody in all his glory during the month of March. Woody! Woody! Woody! is still a joy to watch, for it shows his many moods.

Prince Woody, Sept. 16, 2016, back in full feather

In previous years, Woody would leave the Pond for maybe a week or a month, usually in May. This year, Woody left March 5 (or at least, I last saw him on March 4), and did not return. I kept returning to the Pond, but the worry and sadness got stronger and stronger as I didn't see him. I kept myself busy chasing hawks, but I really missed my friend.

But Woody returned!!! I saw him once again on June 16, and my joy was overwhelming. I put together my "love letter video" to Woody, and share it with you now. Woody is shown in full feather before his vacay, and then in the different stages of molting until he is back in full feather once again. It was filmed March 3 through Oct. 3, 2016. I set it to Beethoven's Sixth Symphony, and he is worthy of that masterpiece!

This gallery shows Woody from March 3 through Oct. 2. You can really watch the progression of the molting. When he molts, Woody hides out in the reeds. He can't really fly and the sun must really burn. So I am always happy when he comes to see me, and never get upset that he wants to leave very quickly and return to the reeds. Woody is his own duck, and I respect that.

Woody! Woody! Woody! happy to see me! Oct. 2, 2016