「食誘離巢」:
    pic1 (麻雀)       pic2 (五色鳥?)        五色雛鳥

6/9/2012 (Sat)  pm after Dim Sum
Kissena Park
camera: FZ35

Cabbage Whites, Anglewing, Yellow Jacket, Honey Bee, damselflies (4 are light orange), dragonfly.  
Cottontail Rabbits, two.  Catbirds. 

Photo:
   Anglewing: <1> 
   Mallard: <1>  (does the male start to molt?)

6/5-6/2012 (Tue-Wed)

金星凌日

6/2/2012 (Sat)  morning / pm after Dim Sum with Emily
JBWR / Kissena Park
camera: FZ35

Big John's Pond:  Black-crowned Night Herons.  Gadwall pair.
Common Snapping Turtle, very large; its shell at least 18 inch long. (not Alligator Snapping Turtle)
Cabbage White, male (medium-sized butterfly; male has one spot on forewings).  Yellow Jacket.
Yellow Warblers, many.  Glossy Ibises flying over.  Osprey parents have 2 babies. Goslings of Canada Goose, many.  Tern.  Shorebirds, probably Semipalmated Sandpipers which are on their way north to breeding grounds in the Arctic tundra.  (so we can see them both in late May/early June and late July/August at Jamaica Bay).
Kissena Park: Rabbit/Hare (having black ear tips so probably Snowshoe Hare).  Eastern Amberwing (3+).  Cabbage White, quite a lot.  A big carp fish was released by a fishing sportsman.  Fishing at Kissena.

Photo:
   Blue Dasher, female or immature male - <1> (incline to be an immature male; cf. bugguide.net)  
   Black-crowned Night Heron - <1>

Note:
 (1) The snapping turtle normally has a shell length ranging from 8 -18 1/2"and has a tail nearly as long as the shell. The tail has saw-toothed keels on it. The shell ranges in color from dark brown to tan and can even be black in some individuals. Snapping turtles have characteristic tubercles on their necks and legs. Plastrons of snapping turtles are very small and leave much of the extremities exposed. Snapping turtle necks, legs, and tails have a yellowish color and the head is dark in color.  src

5/26-28/2012 (Memorial Long Weekend) 
Pine Hill Retreat Center in Canadensis (Monroe County), Pennsylvania, esp. Turtle Pond and High Acres Park 
camera: FZ35

Many damselflies and dragonflies.  Catbirds.  Eastern Chipmunk perches with puffy cheeks, very cute.  Grasshoppers.  Mosquitoes(?) mating.  

Photo:
   Moth/Butterfly (at night) - 
      <1> ( Homochlodes fritillaria Pale Homochlodes; id site  bugguide.net : Homochlodes lactispargaria is nearly identical but not found in Monroe County, PA) 
      <2> 
   Damselfly -
      <1> (blue Fragile Forktail - probably an immature one; or even a teneral female?)  ref:  src1   src2   src3   src4 (viewed by IE)
   Eastern Chipmunk - <1>
   Insect (thought a green-eyed large Mosquito) -  <1>

Note:
 (1) The chipmunk is perhaps most well known for its puffy, furry cheeks, which hold and carry food from place to place. The chipmunk picks up fruit, seeds or nuts with its front paws and then with its incisors, removes seeds (or other nutrients )from pods. Its tongue then shifts the seeds backwards, stuffing them between its teeth and the cheek area. The chipmunk then continues to collect food until the pouch area is full, at which time it deposits the seeds in its nest or buries them for safe keeping. The cheek pouch size of the chipmunk increases with age.  src
 (2) Photographic Guide To Common Mosquitoes Of Florida
 (3) Checklist of moths in Monroe County, PA - Pale Homochlodes in Family Geometridae 尺蠖蛾科 (Geometrid Moths or Geometer Moths)
 (4) A well-known member of Geometer Moths is the Peppered Moth (桦尺蠖, 又称桦尺蛾), Biston betularia, which has been subject of numerous studies in population genetics. 
 (5) Jonathan Wells is one of a number of creationists who have criticized the use of peppered moth melanism as an example of evolution in action. In his book Icons of Evolution, Wells alleges that peppered moth studies, and in particular Kettlewell's experiments, were erroneous. Similarly, in 2002 Judith Hooper repeatedly implied fraud and error in Kettlewell's experiments in her book titled Of moths and men. Despite some valid criticisms of the early experiments, there has been no evidence of fraud. Subsequent experiments and observations have supported the initial explanation of the phenomenon.  wiki

5/23/2012 (Wed)  about 7:30pm
On the way home from work

I saw many juvenile Starlings and one juvenile Mockingbird. That why I was attacked by the Mockingbird parent. It flied towards me a couple of times and was so close to me for several seconds. The whole process lasts probably more than one or two minutes.  It never happens to me before. This first-time encounter shows the greatness of parenthood!

Note:
- laying eggs (2-6? / clutch) - incubation period 12-13 days - condition at hatching: helpless with light gray down - "fledge" (not really fly away, just leave the nest) in 12 days - The young birds are fed by the parents up to five times and continuing until they can forage for themselves, so they really don't fly away from the nest. They seek shelter in low laying brushes and still have the protection of the parents until they can fly!  
   Mockingbirds build and use several nests during the breeding season, laying two or three eggs in each nest. In Florida, nest building starts as early as late February, although March is more common. Each pair produces two to three broods per season, with the female laying a total of about nine eggs. Broods frequently overlap, and the male cares for the fledglings while the female incubates the next clutch of eggs.
   In southern Florida, the female bird incubates the eggs for 12-13 days, while the male forages for food and defends the territory from intruders. Both parents feed the hatchlings and defend the eggs and hatchlings against potential predators. When the chicks are about 12 days old, they will venture from the nest and hop around on the ground or in low shrubs. During this transitional period (after leaving the nest and before they can fly), the young birds are still in the care of the parents, who feed them up to five times per hour. If found hopping around on the ground, they should be placed low in a tree or in a shrub and left alone. The parents will continue to care for them for several days until they learn to forage for themselves.
   Many Floridians have experienced the wrath of the mockingbird defending its nest. Fiercely territorial, male mockingbirds have been known to recognize individual humans and will selectively attack them while ignoring other humans who pass by. Although we rarely intend to disturb nests, this behavior is not completely in vain. In southern Florida it has been noted that the strength of attacks against potential predators is directly associated with nesting success.    src
- The male Mockingbird probably chooses the nest site and begins building several nests before the female chooses one to finish and lay eggs in. Females may start laying in a second nest while the male is still caring for fledglings from the previous one.  src
- More cool facts:

• It’s not just other mockingbirds that appreciate a good song. In the nineteenth century, people kept so many mockingbirds as cage birds that the birds nearly vanished from parts of the East Coast. People took nestlings out of nests or trapped adults and sold them in cities such as Philadelphia, St. Louis, and New York, where, in 1828, extraordinary singers could fetch as much as $50.
• Northern Mockingbirds continue to add new sounds to their repertoires throughout their lives. A male may learn around 200 songs throughout its life.
• The Northern Mockingbird frequently gives a "wing flash" display, where it half or fully opens its wings in jerky intermediate steps, showing off the big white patches. No one knows why it does this, but it may startle insects, making them easier to catch. On the other hand, it doesn’t often seem to be successful, and different mockingbird species do this same display even though they don’t have white wing patches.
• Northern Mockingbirds sing all through the day, and often into the night. Most nocturnal singers are unmated males, which sing more than mated males during the day, too. Nighttime singing is more common during the full moon.
• Northern Mockingbirds typically sing from February through August, and again from September to early November. A male may have two distinct repertoires of songs: one for spring and another for fall.
• The female Northern Mockingbird sings too, although usually more quietly than the male does. She rarely sings in the summer, and usually only when the male is away from the territory. She sings more in the fall, perhaps to establish a winter territory.
• The oldest Northern Mockingbird on record was 14 years and 10 months old.

5/20/2012 (Sun)  2-5pm
JBWR

Big John's Pond:  Black-crowned Night Heron close-up.  Glossy Ibis(es).  Gadwall pair.
Osprey pair at the nest.  House Finch pair, Mourning Dove & a damselfly at Blind Pond.  Laughing Gulls (many, FOS).  Brown Thrashers (two, probably a couple).
Tree Swallow at the same wren nest box (also on 5/31/2010 Mon).  And another Tree Swallow at another swallow(?) nest box at the side of the walk path.
A orange & black bug similar to Boxelder Bug.

Photo:  
   Black-crowned Night Heron -
      molting immature: <1> (or Yellow-crowned?) - I incline to a Yellow-crowned in prealternate molt, transitioning from first basic to first alternate plumage.  cf:  pic1  
         B-crowned incline: 1. with an adult by side but it flew away yet the adult stayed.  2. is more common at Big John's (but Yellow-crowned was not treated as rare at there: see pic here  and here)
         Y-crowned incline: 1. Head plume is shorter.  2.  Back is grayer rather than black or brown.  3. Bill is stouter and entirely dark.
      adult:  <a1>   <a2>   <a3-1> (un-rotated)   <a3-2>   <a4>    <a5> (food in its mouth)   <a6-whole>   <a6-upper>   <a7>   <a8> (un-rotated)    <a9> 
   House Finch -
   damselfly -  <1>
   butterfly -  <1>
      (a Grass-Skipper: a small orange skipper whose hindwings are held flat while forewings are held at 45 degree angle)  
      (probably a Fiery Skipper which is most likely found along coast, cf. Other Butterflies from around Cape May)
      (not look like Swarthy Skipper, Least Skipper & European Skipper)

Note:
   (1) Fifty-four species of butterflies and skippers have been recorded at the Refuge and surrounding uplands, with regular use by several rare species, including checkered white (Pieris protodice), white m hairstreak (Parrhasius m-album), Appalachian azure (Celastrina neglectamajor), tawny emperor (Asterocampa clyton), and salt marsh skipper (Panoquina panoquin).  src  
   (2) The more regular, or commoner Butterflies of NYC, LI and Lower Hudson Valley
   (3) Fiery Skipper is the most common skipper:  src-1
   (4) Black-crowned Night Heron Nycticorax nycticorax (Linnaeus)
          Ardea nycticorax Linnaeus, 1758. Syst. Nat. ed. 10(1), p. 143: southern Europe.
         Subspecies: Nycticorax nycticorax obscurus Bonaparte, 1857: Chile and Patagonia.

         DESCRIPTION

         The Black-crowned Night Heron is a stocky dark grey and white heron with a distinctive glossy black crown and back.

         ADULT: The Black-crowned Night Heron has black cap that goes forward to a white line above the bill. The sides of the head and thick neck are white. The thick, down curved bill is black. The lores are green blue; the irises are crimson red. The back is black, and upper wings, rump and tail are grey. The belly is white to pale grey. The relatively short legs and feet are pale yellow. During courtship, the lores are black and legs and feet are red to pink. The black plumage of the head and back takes on a blue green gloss and white head plumes develop that may reach a length of 25 cm.

         VARIATION: Females average smaller than males in most measurements and have shorter head plumes during the breeding season. Black-crowned Night Herons vary in size and color geographically and up to four races have been recognized on these bases. However, variation among individuals is high, light, dark and intermediate color birds occur in South America, with very dark and cream colored birds have been reported (Pitelka 1938, Gochfeld et al. 1982, Davis 1993). Obscurus is larger with a slate grey back and brown grey face and chest. Given its extraordinary range it is intriguing that more geographic variation is not recognizable. Other subspecies, hoactli and falklandicus, have been described but are doubtful.

         JUVENILE: Juveniles have brown plumage, very different from that of the adults (McVaugh 1972). The head and upper parts are grey brown with buff, white, or rufous spots. Lores are green and the irises are orange yellow to brown red, changing to red at 2-3 years. The stout bill is dark and horn. The upper bill is black with yellow or green sides, becoming black with green sides at one year. The lower bill is horn, turning yellow with horn tip or yellow green with black tip about 1 year, and black by 2 years. Upper wing is grey brown with lighter spots; flight feathers are grey brown with white tips. Upper tail coverts brown. Rump is grey brown streaked with white. Tail is grey. Under parts are grey with dark brown streaks. The legs are yellow green to olive green, turning yellow by 2 years. By the age of one year, the juvenile is still has a brown wash, brown cap and back, with some spots remaining and striped below (Davis 1999). Older juveniles (2-3 years) gradually take on adult characters, becoming more solidly dark above with the spots disappearing and lighter below, with some remnant brown feathers persisting on the head, back or wings.

         http://www.heronconservation.org/styled-5/styled-10/
   (4) HYBRIDIZATION OF A YELLOW-CROWNED AND BLACK-CROWNED NIGHT-HERON
            http://elibrary.unm.edu/sora/wb/v39n04/p0233-p0241.html
      http://smbasblog.wordpress.com/lagoon-birds/ (the picture may not be a hybrid?)

 5/19/2012 (Sat)  afternoon, after Dim Sum
Kissena Park

Double-crested Cormorant (first time this year at Kissena; an adult in breeding plumage), Osprey chased by a male RWBB & fishing by plunging into the pond, 環頸雉 Ring-necked Pheasant (male),  Eastern Cottontail Rabbit (rusty nape patch), Eastern Forktail, dragonfly (probably), Yellow Jacket, a baby turtle, etc. 

Photo:  
   Double-crested Cormorant - <1> 
   Osprey (seems to be a successful fishing)  - <1>    <2>    <3>  (Under strong sunlight at far away, the shutter speed will be set to 1/4000 and osprey picture will be under-exposed.  So use Shutter Priority and set 1/1300.  Though the other parts of the picture may over-exposed, the focusing will be faster and better and the osprey picture will be better exposed and sharper.) 
   House Sparrow - bathing (親子沐浴, 不是男女共浴)
   Eastern Forktail  - <1>   and  P1200860 - 62.JPG
   Ring-necked Pheasant (環頸雉) - <m1>   <m2>

Video:
   Eastern Cottontail -

 5/6/2012 (Sun)  4-6pm
Forest Park, met Eric Miller and Andrew Baksh at waterhole where finally I can find it by myself

They are waiting for Swainson's Warbler(?) at waterhole.  They saw it(?) before I came.  But it was very quiet when I came.  No luck. 
Saw Baltimore Oriole, male Scarlet Tanager, Hermit Thrush, female RWBB, many Catbirds and Robins. 
There are a lot of Red Admiral Butterflies.  Even saw them while walking to the church in the late morning.  And Andrew said there are huge number of them at Jamaica Bay Wildlife Refuge.  They are easy meal so flycatchers must be very happy.  This is a year of Red Admiral explosion.  Related news:   http://www.digitaljournal.com/article/324350   Chicago CBS

Photo:  
   Scarlet Tanager
   Red Admiral Butterfly -  underside-1  

Video:
   Red Admiral Butterfly

Note:
Lepidopterist Kurt Johnson reports an unusually large number of the species are descending upon Brooklyn, NY  ... in the last two days there has been

an outbreak of Red Admirals (Vanessa atalanta) in Brooklyn the likes of which I have never seen (not even close), and I've been here 45 years. ... [T]here were at least a half dozen Red Admirals for every 10 paces one walked.... [At] the Botanical Garden, Red Admirals were also flying all over the place, chasing each other etc.

Normally, Red Admirals migrate north from Guatemala to Canada beginning in March, but they do not usually arrive so early and in such great numbers. Unusual sitings were also reported in Le Roy, NY by the Daily News, in Trenton, NJ by CBS News and in Ottawa, Canada by Canada.com.

Read more: http://www.digitaljournal.com/article/324350

5/5/2012 (Sat)  7am - 12pm / 2-2:30pm after Dim Sum before ping pong
Forest Park w/ QCBC, cloudy with intermittent light rain shower, bad for birding  / Kissena Park

Great Horned Owls (female? adult with a young), Baltimore Orioles singing, Scarlet Tanagers (m+f), Great Crested Flycatcher, Blue-headed Vireo (also seen at 5/7/2011), Catbirds, etc.
Warblers: Blackburnian, Black-and-White, Common Yellowthroat, etc. 
QCBC trip members saw or heard: Indigo Bunting, Warblers: Chestnut-sided, Nashville, Wilson's or Canada, etc.  
Three male Ring-necked Pheasants and a hare/rabbit (id as Eastern Cottontail Rabbit), Grackle picking grass to build nest at Kissena Park.

Photo:  
   Baltimore Oriole
   Red Admiral Butterfly -  <1>  

Video:
   Baltimore Oriole
   Great Horned Owl
   Cottontail Rabbit (nape patch rusty so it is Eastern not New England)

Note:
   I, as a so-so birder, shouldn't expect to see Orchard Oriole in NYC, not common.
   Breeding Success of Wild and Hand-Reared Ring-Necked Pheasants - those in Kissena are hand-reared pheasants released into the wild?
   Kissena
    - Kissena Park guide - seems to talk like those pheasants are wild.
    - Kissena Park was developed gradually in the early years of the 20th Century (officially opening in 1910), with NYC slowly acquiring territory from private owners and police department property. Kissena Lake was once fed by streams, some of which emanated from the Flushing River, but it was cut off by the Works Progress Administration in 1942 and placed in a concrete retainer.
      It is periodically cleaned of algae buildup and is stocked with fish that support herons, egrets, cormorants and even snapping turtles. “Kissena” is thought to be a Chippewa Indian term meaning “it is cold”; though the Chippewa lived in Michigan, 19th-century horticulturalist Samuel Parsons, whose tree grove is in the park at Rose Avenue and Parsons Blvd. probably named it. It is also home to New York City’s only velodrome.   src
    - A snapping turtle at Kissena Park 
    - There are 2 giant snapping turtles in the lake that only a few have been lucky enough to see.. once an aligator was pulled (February 27, 2011)
   Male pheasants duel over Royalton Township territory (SW Michigan)  [src]:

4/28/2012 (Sat) 2:30pm & after 4pm
Kissena Park

One female & one male Ring-necked Pheasants, close encounter. 
Baby Turtles, a lot, perhaps 50+.  Many female RWBBs.  A RWBB nest may be at the loop area so a female ignores me even come closer to me while foraging and a male makes red-shoulder arched-wing spreading-tail display (to me or another male?).  Near the site, there is a tree hole which may be used for nesting by a Starling.  Red-bellied Woodpecker.  Yellow-rumped Warblers, both female & male.

4/25/2012 (Wed) am
JBWR

Rose-breasted Grosbeak, female.  Osprey incubating.  Wren.  Male Ruddy Duck looking for something in the grass near the shore of West Pond.  Blue-winged Teal.  Grasshopper & Butterflies.  Flower fly, probably.

4/24/2012 (Tue) lunch time?
Columbus Park

Wren.

4/21/2012 (Sat) pm
morning stay home, after Dim Sum to Kissena Park

No Ring-necked Pheasants.  A lot of Turtles; I think mainly Eastern Painted Turtles.  Damselflies curving their body in order to minimize exposure to the sun.  Butterflies & Bees.  Cowbirds, Grackles, etc.

Mourning Doves nesting at our apartment building?

Note:
1a. Female Fragile Forktails are with broken shoulder stripes, though these darken with age and can be difficult to see.
1b. Fragile Forktails are one of the earliest of damsels to emerge.   src1  src2
1c. For much of the Northeast, the first damselfly on the wing is the Eastern Forktail. In southern New York, adults usually emerge at the beginning of May. The image on the left was taken on April 17, 2002 – the earliest recorded date for any damselfly in New York State. It was an unusually warm Spring and Eastern Forktails were seen on that same day in both New York and Westchester counties.   src
1d. The record winter [of 2001-02, ten years ago] warmth experienced in Iowa, Wisconsin, Michigan, New York, New Hampshire, Vermont, Massachusetts, Connecticut, Rhode Island and New Jersey also coincided with below normal precipitation in much of the same region.   warm winter
1e. Pictures found on Web of various Forktails of male/female, young/old - ref1   ref2   ref3
2. The American Painted Lady or American Lady (Vanessa virginiensis) -  is most easily distinguishable by its two large eyespots on the ventral side, whereas Painted Lady (V. cardui) has four small eyespots and V. annabella has none. 
3. orientation/training session of participation as a Citizen Scientist in Harbor Heron Foraging Study will be held in the NYC Audubon office at 71 W. 23rd Street, Suite1523 (two hours from 9am).
          John Rowden, PhD
          Associate Director, Citizen Science and Outreach
          New York City Audubon
          71 West 23rd Street, Suite 1523
          New York, NY 10010
          Tel: 212.691.7483
          Fax: 212.924.3870

4. FAMINE  AMINE(ANIME)  MINE  INE (Ine: hereditary ruler, king of Wessex (688-726))  North East  E

4/15/2012 (Sun)  8-10am / 3-5pm
JBWR : cloudy morning / Kissena Corridor Park & Kissena Park : sunny afternoon like summer (70+°C)

JBWR : Brown Thrasher.  Yellow-rumped Warbler.  Somebody saw Field Sparrow and id Greater Scaups.  Common & Boat-tailed Grackles.  Brought tripod but failed to utilize it:  not tall enough for blinds; most of the time ground is not flat; difficult to point the camera to the frame I wanted.  So this cheap tripod is likely only useful for taking video & BIF pictures at Osprey & Tree Swallow nests on open field, esp. cloudy days or at dawn and dusk.
Kissena : Ring-necked Pheasants (1 male & at least 2 females)

4/14/2012 (Sat)  am
JBWR : sunny

Many birds, many insects, many people & many "guns"
Barn Owl (they said there are 3 youngsters there), Black-crowned Night Herons, Rudy-crowned Kinglet (id by its big-eyed look), Hermit Thrushes, Juncos, Glossy Ibis pair flying across, Catbird, shorebirds at far distance (Sandpipers, Yellowlegs or Dowitchers), Oystercatcher, Forster's Terns, Crows, 3 male & 1 female Cowbirds at feeder area, Cardinals, Robins, Grackles, Shovelers, Scaups (seems to have 2 different sizes so both Greater and Lesser are there?), Ruddy Ducks, Brants, Canada Geese, RWBBs, White-throated Sparrows, Clipping Sparrow, Song Sparrow, probably Savannah Sparrow, perhaps American Tree Sparrow (P1190628.JPG) or Field Sparrow (P1190641.JPG), Palm Warbler, Mute Swan pairs, Cormorants, House Sparrows, Starlings, Mourning Doves (heard), Great Egret, Gulls including Laughing Gull & a Herring Gull finding way to eat a crab (P1190399.Gull.JPG) and flee when another Herring Gull wants to have a share (P1190405.JPG), Tree Swallows, etc.
Insects:  Eastern Carpenter Bees, probably Small Carpenter Bees (Ceratina), Yellow Jacket.