Week 25 - Green-Wood Cemetery

Week 25 saw more of our breeding bird's offspring leaving the nest. Also, while I haven't seen them yet, I've received reports of a few "chuckling" sightings. I was hoping to cross paths with the young Groundhogs during my dawn walks. Maybe this coming weekend.

Our fledgling Red-tailed Hawk is still exploring the area fairly close to home base. During Sunday's early walk we found her near the grave of Samuel Chester Reid. Despite her impressive size, she disclosed her immaturity by crying for mom when being mobbed by Blue Jays.

Immature Red-tailed Hawk

By week's end some of the young birds who fledged were Warbling Vireo, Baltimore Oriole and Great Crested Flycatcher. The mockingbird nestlings in the sapling at the middle of the wildflower meadow seemed to have fledged. The nest looked empty, but they are clearly in the immediate vicinity as the adults attacked me when I tried to walk across the meadow.

Great Crested Flycatcher nestling

Baltimore Oriole nestlings

A Northern Flicker nest cavity along Border Avenue still had a couple of very large nestlings as of Sunday. Given their large size, I expect they will leave the nest some time this week.

Northern Flicker

Lots of wildflowers throughout the cemetery, too many to mention. A stretch of Central Avenue, just up the road from Valley Water, is especially rich with botanics right now. Here are just a couple of recent standouts.

Butterfly Weed

Common Yarrow

As far as trees go, the Little-leaf Lindens are still filling the air with their honey-like fragrance, although many are starting to drop their flowers. The Southern Magnolias are now in bloom. Their large showy flowers are giving the lindens a run for their money in the scent department. A new species for me, the Starburst Amur Maackia (Maackia amurensis 'Starburst'), has begun flowering. Also, I've noticed that the Blue Atlas Cedars are sporting new cones.

Southern Magnolia

Amur Maackia

Blue Atlas Cedar

Butterfly diversity is increasing, with more Monarch and swallowtail sightings. I spotted a Question Mark butterfly drinking sap from a small hole on the side of a Red Oak. Firefly abundance is on the increase and I'm hoping we have a big summer for them this year. We'll definitely know at the "Evening at Niblo’s Garden" event on July 18th.

Question Mark

Firefly

Finally, all the rainfall last week stimulated lots of slugs into activity. The only two I've ever observed in Green-Wood Cemetery are the Leopard Slug and the Dusky Arion. Both of these species of slug are introduced to North American.

Leopard Slug

Dusky Arion