Autumn Strolling in Brooklyn

I took an afternoon walk on Oct. 11 in the Brooklyn Botanic Garden, one of the most glorious places in New York City. I was rewarded with late summer/early fall flowers, trees, foliage, insects, butterflies, birds, duckies and just beautiful scenery.

Japanese Hill-and-Pond Garden, Brooklyn Botanic Garden, Oct. 11, 2016

I made of video of the stroll, much as I did when I went through the New York Botanical Garden in the Bronx on March 31. The music is the Fifth Brandenburg Concerto by Bach, plus the third movement of the Third, performed by Advent Chamber Orchestra.

Here are some of the photos from the walk. You can find more on the Brooklyn Botanic Garden page I've added to my site.

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.