Spotted Sandpiper
The Spotted Sandpiper is the most widespread breeding sandpiper in North America. With their richly spotted breeding plumage, teetering gait, stuttering wing beats, and showy courtship dances, the Spotted Sandpiper is among the most notable and memorable shorebirds in North America.
Glossy Ibis in Tree
Glossy Ibis breed mainly in freshwater marshes, river-edge marshes, but are also commonly observed in brackish and saltwater marshes, mudflats, mangroves, ponds. Glossy Ibis nest colonially on ground, in shrubs, or in trees, often far from feeding areas. Glossy Ibis breed in the Jamaica Bay Wildlife Refuge.
Black-crowned Night-heron
The Black-crowned Night Heron (Nycticorax nycticorax) is a medium-sized heron found throughout a large part of the world. It is most active at dusk and at night, feeding in the same areas that other heron species frequent during the day. This closeup portrait of the Black-crowned Night-heron was taken at the Jamaica Bay Wildlife Refuge.
American Oystercatcher chicks depend on adults for food for at least 60 days after hatching. Chicks are typically brought food by adults, but may also forage on their own as early as 2–3 weeks after hatching. Adults will excise shellfish from shells, then deliver soft parts to young chicks; older chicks (3+ wk) are often brought unopened shellfish
Leaf-cutter Bee
Leaf-cutter Bee
The picture of this Leaf-cutter Bee was taken with the Canon 100mm macro lens on the Canon 5D Mark III camera.
The leaf-cutter bee (family Megachilidae), differ from most other bees in that they collect pollen on their abdomens rather than on their hind legs.
Piping Plovers
The Piping Plover is a threatened and endangered shorebird. Critical nesting habitats are now being protected to help the population during its breeding season. Populations have seen significant increases since the protection programs began, but the species remains in serious danger.
To hear the sounds for the Piping Plover, click on the arrow below.
Common Terns with Egg
A story unfolded as I photographed this pair of Common Terns on the beach. The male flew in with a large fish and the female was not in the least bit interested. He finally ate it himself. After about five minutes, the female got up from the nest, poked her head into the nest and flew off with this broken egg. She flew high into the air and dropped the egg onto the sand in a similar manner to that of a gull dropping a clam shell. Since I captured this whole incident on camera, I could also see the contents of the egg falling out of the broken shell. There were very few Common Tern nests at Nickerson Beach compared to previous years which makes me wonder if Hurricane Sandy created a problem for these nesting birds.
American Oystercatcher in Flight
True to its name, the American Oystercatcher is specialized in feeding on bivalves (oysters, clams, and mussels) and uses its brightly colored bill to get at them. These conspicuous birds tend to roost on beaches, dunes, or marsh islands near their foraging sites, and rarely venture far inland. The picture of this lovely American Oystercatcher in flight was taken at Nickerson Beach on Long Island.
To hear the call of the American Oystercatcher, click the arrow below
Common Yellowthroat Warbler
The picture of this pretty male Common Yellowthroat Warbler was taken in the Ramble in Central Park during spring migration. The breeding habitats of Common Yellowthroat Warblers are marshes and other wet areas with dense low vegetation, and may also be found in other areas with dense shrub. However, these birds are less common in dry areas. Females appear to prefer males with larger masks. Common Yellowthroats nest in low areas of the vegetation, laying 3–5 eggs in a cup-shaped nest. Both parents feed the young.
To hear the song of the Common Yellowthroat Warbler click the arrow below
Blue Jay with Nesting Materials
Both members of the Blue Jay pair gather material and incorporate into nest, but males appear to do more of the former, and females more of the latter. The outer shell is composed primarily of strong, fresh twigs, sometimes thorny species, but also may include dead twigs. Twigs used in outer shell of the nest is usually taken from live trees, often with great struggle. Size of twigs decreases toward nest cup. The cup usually is lined with tough rootlets; sometimes lined with wet, partially decomposed leaves and mud is often incorporated in nest
I took this picture in the ramble in the Central Park Ramble
Mourning Doves
Allopreening, a form of appeasement behavior, occurs between mates during pair formation and consists of gentle nibbling of feathers in head and neck regions with beak.. Billing usually begins with male offering open beak to female after brief bouts of allopreening and displacement preening.The picture of this lovey doves was taken in the ramble in Central Park.
Veery
The picture of this Veery on a tree stump was taken in the ramble in Central Park during Spring migration. I rarely do get to photograph this bird as they are very secretive and seem to always be in the shadows as this particular bird was. Luckily I was able to capture a moment and the photo this time.
Baltimore Oriole Male Immature
Young male Baltimore Orioles do not molt into bright-orange adult plumage until the fall of their second year. Still, a few first-year males in drab, female-like plumage succeed in attracting a mate and raising young. The picture of this young male Baltimore Oriole was taken in the Ramble in Central Park.
Click arrow below to hear the typical song of the Baltimore Oriole
Northern Flicker Female Foraging
Although it can climb up the trunks of trees and hammer on wood like other woodpeckers, the Northern Flicker prefers to find food on the ground. Ants are its main food, and the flicker digs in the dirt to find them. It uses its long barbed tongue to lap up the ants.
Click the arrow below to hear the sounds for the Northern Flicker
Wilson’s Warbler Singing
The picture of this beautiful Wilson’s Warbler singing was taken in Central Park at the point during spring migration.
To hear the song of the Wilson’s Warbler click the arrow below