NYC Nova Hunter

eBird-a-thon 2011 (Southeast New York)

2010-12-27T21:03:00.720-05:00

Head over to Benjamin Van Doren's site ‘Warblings’ for contest details. Table updated on Thu., 12-January-2012 at 8:55p ⇓ Goto Table ⇓ Explanation of "Total Ticks" Here's an explanation of "Total Ticks" since this is a number some people are not familiar with. For each of the 14 counties listed below the number of species seen for each observer appears under the "Species"

eBird.org: NYC Area Abundance Charts

2010-11-22T19:32:00.493-05:00

Below is a table of abundance charts based on data submitted to eBird.org. The data is arranged by location, by month and by season. When the location name in the left column is clickable this will bring up a page of 2011 arrivals showing the latest arrivals first. This feature does not work for multiple locations i.e. counties or hotspots Table updated on Sat., 28-January-2012 at

eBird.org: NYC Area Reports (2010 & Overall)

2010-10-18T22:22:00.578-04:00

State & Counties | Major Locations | Smaller Parks | Notes | Links Refreshed on Tue., 28-Dec-2010 10am — green background for latest updates I had a few bookmarks on my home computer and decided to place them in a table for easy access away from home. Here's the result. eBird.org is a database of sightings submitted by subscribers. All sightings can be accessed via the Bar Charts & First

American Kestrel with Lizard 14-Jun-2009

2009-07-04T11:29:00.007-04:00

Female American Kestrel With Lizard MANHATTAN — UPPER EAST SIDE Images by BEN CACACE The nesting American Kestrels, on the Upper East Side in the mid 70s, have revealed the presence of lizards on their territory. The photo above shows the female after this lizard was delivered to her by the male kestrel. Over a period of a week or so I spotted the male bringing up to 4

Upper East Side: Kestrels Mating 12-Apr-2008

2008-04-13T17:34:00.004-04:00

American Kestrels MANHATTAN — UPPER EAST SIDE Images by BEN CACACE The image above is an animation of 22 stills taken on Saturday 12-April-2008 from 6:03:20 — 6:03:32 EDST. The pair has appeared in the area for the current breeding season. The nest location has not been found yet. As far as I know this area has not hosted a kestrel pair for at least the past 11 years since

Park Ave. Peregrines Are Back: 14-Mar-2008

2008-03-14T21:25:00.006-04:00

Today I spent a half hour during lunch hour plus a little less than a hour after work watching raptors over Park Ave. from a convenient seat near 52nd St. From 12:20p to 1:10p there were 4 raptor sightings. The 1st was a local Peregrine Falcon circling west of the Met Life Building. The 2nd was a high flying Peregrine heading due northwest but I wasn't sure if it was a migrant or a local.

Met Life Building: Peregrine Perch 13-Mar-2008

2008-03-14T00:37:00.004-04:00

Peregrine Falcon Perch MET LIFE BUILDING Image by BEN CACACE (Click image for a larger view) During lunch hour today I spotted a Peregrine Falcon heading south while looking for American Kestrels from Park Ave. & 51st St. north of St. Bart's. It was a brief view of a falcon disappearing behind a building northwest of the Met Life Building (between 44th/45th St. & Park Ave.).

Central Park Report: 18-Aug-2007

2007-08-19T00:09:00.002-04:00

DATE: Saturday, 18 August 2007 (3:45p-7:20p) LOCATION: Central Park - reservoir & north end REPORTED BY: Ben Cacace It's easy to see Central Park is not a nature sanctuary. While counting the Mallards on the Meer I spotted one with a huge fishing lure lodged in its lower bill. Last week the same was seen with a Canada Goose. While birding the Wildflower Sanctuary I was cursed out by a

“Krider's” Red-tailed Hawk Links: 7-Aug-2007

2007-08-07T20:38:00.001-04:00

2003 report on BirdHawk & OntBirds: Krider's Red-tailed Hawk at Grimsby, ON Sunday, April 13 Mike Street Wed Apr 16 07:40:13 EDT 2003 Ontario and Upper New York state birders should be on the lookout for an adult Krider's Red-tailed Hawk. The bird was seen Sunday, April 13 at Beamer Conservation Area in Grimsby, ON by Don Pleuramaki and myself. It was

Park Ave. Peregrine Falcons: 6 August 2007

2007-08-06T23:27:00.001-04:00

It was good to finally see a Peregrine Falcon tonight on its Park Ave. territory — north of the Met Life building. My last sighting was June 21st when a Peregrine was seen circling over Park Ave. with prey. It landed on 350 Park Ave. to eat the meal. Tonight I walked up Park Ave. to Border's Books which has been my usual beat since the Peregrines set up shop over Park Ave. this summer. On top

Adult Red-tailed Hawk in Pale Male's Space

2007-07-18T23:39:00.001-04:00

Adult Red-tailed Hawk CENTRAL PARK — 85TH St. & 5TH AVE. Image by BEN CACACE (Click image for a larger view) Tonight this adult Red-tailed Hawk was spotted near the north edge of Pale Male's territory. The hawk has a red tail. It was just inside the 85th St. & 5th Ave. entrance. Blue Jays and Robins were making a racket. It was fairly dark at the time of the photo — 18-Jul-

Park Ave. Peregrine Falcons: 24 April 2007

2007-04-27T10:07:00.002-04:00

320 Park Ave. 28-Mar-2007 These observations occured while heading back to work as I passed through the Park Ave. Peregrine Falcon territory. As soon as I turned the corner I spotted a falcon on 320 Park Ave. (Mutual of America Building). The image to the right was taken on March 28th and is the exact same perch I found this Peregrine on. It was

Central Park Reservoir: 5 Common Loons 18-Apr

2007-04-18T22:28:00.000-04:00

Three of Five Common Loons CENTRAL PARK — RESERVOIR Image by B. Cacace (click either image for a combined view) 420mm | ISO: 200 | Shutter: 1/160s | Aperture: f/5.6 The number of Common Loons in breeding plumage on Central Park's reservoir has increased to five. All were seen on the

Park Ave. Peregrine Falcons: 7 April 2007

2007-04-08T00:25:00.001-04:00

Park Ave. Peregrine Falcons: 2 April 2007

2007-04-02T23:29:00.001-04:00

299 Park Ave. Image by Ben Cacace (31-Mar 6:21pm EDT) 420mm | ISO: 80 | Shutter: 1/125s | Aperture: f/5.6 I left the office late and didn't think to go birding but since there was still a few minutes of daylight left I headed downstairs to observe the Peregrine Falcons. It was worthwhile since I got to see a phenomenal stoop and the first evening roost of

Park Ave. Peregrine Falcons: 31 March 2007

2007-04-02T00:34:00.001-04:00

Peregrine Falcon 299 PARK AVE. Image by D. BRUCE YOLTON (Click image to visit Bruce's site with add'l photos) The above image was taken by Bruce Yolton on Saturday March 31st shortly after 6:30pm. Thank's to Bruce for allowing me to use his image on this blog. He had the right idea in trying to get as close as possible to the Peregrine Falcon. This was the easiest way of

Park Ave. Peregrine Falcons: 30 March 2007

2007-04-01T00:05:00.001-04:00

320 Park Ave. (7:05pm EDT) 345mm | ISO: 200 | Shutter: 1/25s | Aperture: f/3.6 After spending a few evenings watching this pair of Peregrines some patterns are emerging: They prefer certain perches over others. Four buildings have been used for this purpose and 2 are used more often than the others. The preferred buildings are 299 Park Ave.

Park Ave. Peregrine Falcons: 29 March 2007

2007-03-30T00:57:00.001-04:00

299 Park Ave. (5:32pm EDT) 35mm film equiv.: 420mm | ISO: 80 | Shutter: 1/200s | Aperture: f/5.6 The evening session was cut short due to headache. Enough time was spent at the site to make it a worthwhile outing. I stayed for an hour arriving at 5:13pm. At 5:31pm, 18 minutes after arriving, a Peregrine was spotted moving south along Park

Park Ave. Peregrine Falcons : 28 March 2007

2007-03-28T22:37:00.001-04:00

320 Park Ave. (7:07pm EDT) 35mm film equiv.: 405mm | ISO: 80 | Shutter: 1/30 | Aperture: f/3.7 Activity was seen from 7:02pm-7:21pm. I arrived at 7:00pm and spotted a Peregrine Falcon exiting an opening from a building's south face. It then headed west, then north, then perched on the south side of 320 Park Ave. (Mutual of America Building

Park Ave. Peregrine Falcons : 27 March 2007

2007-03-28T02:02:00.000-04:00

Park Ave. Peregrines & CZA: 25 March 2007

2007-03-25T23:54:00.000-04:00

Peregrine Falcon WALDORF-ASTORIA HOTEL — PARK AVENUE Image by BEN CACACE (Click image for a larger view) Peregrine Falcon MUTUAL OF AMERICA BUILDING — 320 PARK AVE. Image by BEN CACACE (Click image for a larger view) Recently I spotted some activity over Park Ave. that suggests there may be some nesting in the area north of the Met Life Building. On

History of 5th Ave. Red-tailed Hawks

2007-03-25T13:15:00.001-04:00

Attached is the document History of the Fifth Avenue Red-tailed Hawks as of 4/21/06 produced by Jim Lewis and supplied to me by Marie Winn. I've uploaded the document to my site in order to make it available to the public. Click on the title in quotes to view the chart ... Enjoy!

Bald Eagle on Reservoir 24-Feb-2007

2007-02-24T20:01:00.000-05:00

Bald Eagle - juvenile CENTRAL PARK — RESERVOIR Image by BEN CACACE (Click image for a wider view) Update 9-Apr-2007: I've spoken to a number of birders from Central Park who have birded there awhile and/or know the history of sightings in the park and the consensus is that this is the first confirmed sighting of a Bald Eagle landing in Central Park!

Central Park Reservoir: 16-Feb-2007

2007-02-17T01:03:00.000-05:00

American Coots (6) CENTRAL PARK — RESERVOIR Images by BEN CACACE (Click image for a larger view) Last night I made my first trip to the reservoir after work seeing that sunset is starting to fit in with quitting time. I arrived at 5:26pm, roughly 5 minutes before sunset. I left the reservoir a few minutes before 6pm. I didn't know what shape the reservoir would be in but I

Avian Media Watch #1

2007-02-15T21:31:00.001-05:00

Some avian related items in the media to keep an eye on: PBS: Nature — Raptor Force Sun., 18 Feb 2007 at 8pm & 11pm (Thirteen, WNET - New York ) “Raptors such as the peregrine falcon, golden eagle and red-tailed hawk are spotlighted. Included: a miniature camera captures the world as birds see it;

Poem

2007-02-10T20:15:00.000-05:00

t h c l i c k s

Film Featuring a Red-tailed Hawk (2006)

2007-02-10T12:39:00.001-05:00

Paul Giamatti The Hawk is Dying (click pic for reviews) I just came across this film starring Paul Giamatti (Sideways, Cinderella Man, Private Parts …) released in 2006 called The Hawk is Dying. Here's the plot outline from IMDb: “A Gainesville Florida auto upholsterer (Giamatti) attempts to subvert his mundane life by training a wild, red-tailed hawk.”

Central Park: Pied-billed Grebe 3-Feb-2007

2007-02-03T21:32:00.001-05:00

Pied-billed Grebe — adult plumage CENTRAL PARK — RESERVOIR Image by BEN CACACE (Click image for a larger view) This Pied-billed Grebe is possibly the same bird that appeared on the reservoir for the 2006/2007 winter season the day I was out birding with Omar Morales on 30-Sep-2006. It arrived in juvenile plumage and has recently begun to acquire its adult plumage as noted by

Central Park Reservoir: Brant 28-Jan-2007

2007-01-29T22:16:00.002-05:00

Flock of Brant (Branta bernicla) CENTRAL PARK — RESERVOIR Images by BEN CACACE (Click images for a larger view) A flock of 22 Brant landed on the reservoir around 8:30a on Sunday 28-Jan-2007. The flock left by 8:50a.

Scaup Identification Question: 28-Jan-2007

2007-01-28T18:28:00.001-05:00

Scaup species — female Central Park — Reservoir Images by BEN CACACE This scaup was on the reservoir this morning (Sun, 28 Jan 2007) briefly from at least 9:30a after I completed a loop of the reservoir. I left the area around 9:45a. The bird was not seen again by other birders I mentioned the sighting to. Are there enough details in the two photos to ID this as Lesser Scaup (

Blog Carnival &mdash I and the Bird #41

2007-01-24T18:30:00.001-05:00

The lastest issue of I and the Bird — edition #41 — has just been released from down under hosted by Snail from A Snail's Eye View. This is a blog carnival for birds & birding. Below is a blogging definition from Wiktionary: Blog Carnival: A blog article that contains links to other articles covering a specific topic. Most blog carnivals are hosted by a rotating list of frequent

Adirondack Birding Using Google Map API

2007-01-22T22:21:00.000-05:00

A new site has been added to the left sidebar under Birding Sites. After searching for maps similar to the one I developed yesterday I came across a very nice implementation of a birding related Google Map API. The site is called Birding in the Adirondacks from visitadironacks.com. To view the map click Search by Map at the birding site. The map is draggable and zoomable. There's an

Great Kills Park, Staten Island 20-Jan-2007

2007-01-21T15:04:00.000-05:00

Google Maps JavaScript API //

Blog Carnival on Birds & Birding

2007-01-10T21:12:00.000-05:00

Click the banner to read the latest 'I and the Bird' — edition #40. This is a blog carnival for birds & birding. Below is a blogging definition from Wiktionary: Blog Carnival: A blog article that contains links to other articles covering a specific topic. Most blog carnivals are hosted by a rotating list of frequent contributors to the carnival, and serve to both generate new posts

Red-Tailed Hawk vs. Bald Eagle (Flickr)

2006-12-31T21:00:00.001-05:00

Red-Tailed Hawk vs. Bald Eagle - II Originally uploaded by tsmzth. This is an attempt to blog directly from Flickr using Flickr's built in 'Blog This' icon. This and another 2 images show a juvenile Red-tailed Hawk interacting with a sub-adult Bald Eagle. I've never seen a photo like this with both raptors in the same frame. One time I watched as an adult Red-tailed Hawk harassed

Bald Eagles Over Central Park 2006

2006-12-27T20:53:00.001-05:00

Below are 2 photos taken in 2006 of adult Bald Eagles flying over Central Park. The 1st image is by Cal Vornberger taken on January 16th at the north end of the park near the Harlem Meer. The 2nd photo is by Lincoln Karim and was taken today (Dec. 27th) from a spot southwest of the Great Lawn. Can anyone ID the fish in the eagle's talons to species? Bald Eagle (16 Jan 2006)

Riverside Park: Red-headed Woodpecker

2006-12-24T21:04:00.000-05:00

Red-headed Woodpecker Riverside Park, New York City Image by CAL VORNBERGER (add'l RHWO images by Cal — at his site click image to advance) This afternoon (24 Dec) I headed over to Riverside Park after spending some time in Central Park at the reservoir to view the Common Loon. The loon was located on the east side of the divide and was feeding for a good portion of the time I

Life Lists and Double Stars

2006-12-22T22:59:00.001-05:00

Lately I've been busy with a few keyboard projects. One involves retooling all posts on my blog to fit in with the new format. The changes mainly deal with colors, table sizes and the addition of labels. So far 2006 is complete which includes 50 out of 89 posts. I'm currently working on the remaining 39 posts for 2005. Another project involves creating a life list of all birds species I've

Birding, Bollywood & Subtitles = Funny!

2006-12-14T22:31:00.000-05:00

Found this bit of comedy by following a link from John's Bird Stuff blog talking about the history of birding blogs. His link to SwampBlog contains the post Bollywood Goes Birding which has a link for a short movie clip originally found at George Bristow's Secret Freezer. Here's the clip ... Fire it up!

Central Park: Juv. Pied-billed Grebe 7-Dec

2006-12-08T00:29:00.000-05:00

Pied-billed Grebe (Juvenile) Central Park — Reservoir Image by BEN CACACE (Click image for a larger view) This image taken on December 7th at 12:38pm EST at the south end of the reservoir. Focal length in 35mm film equivalent is 420mm, exposure time 1/100s, hand held with image stabilization at f/5.6.

Moving Blog to Blogger Beta

2006-12-03T15:15:00.001-05:00

It's a good time to move to Blogger Beta since it will allow me to incorporate features that I find helpful in developing a working blog i.e. labels. I have done extensive testing on a new blogger template that incorporates hacks developed by others. I've adapted it to have a fluid design which expands and contracts based on the users monitor resolution. Here are some things to look for:

Missing NavBar: Blogger Beta 18-Nov

2006-11-18T23:40:00.000-05:00

Above is what I sometimes see when I'm in preview mode. Here is what I see on my computer screen when I bring up any of my blogs. The navigation bar is clearly missing. Only sometimes does it show up when I'm in preview mode. Here is an print screen of the Page Elements showing how the NavBar is clearly shorter than the width of the 3 sections below it i.e. left sidebar, body posts &

Central Park: Looking South 9-Nov

2006-11-17T13:28:00.001-05:00

Southern View from TotL (detail) Central Park South from the Great Lawn, New York City Image by BEN CACACE Click the picture above for a wide-angle view of Central Park South taken from our observing site. The image is from the Top of the Lawn where we do most of our Central Park observing. It was taken shortly before Charlie arrived and was inspired by the handheld panorama

Blogger Beta: NavBar Missing

2006-11-16T00:43:00.000-05:00

I can see the navigation bar at the top of the blog when I preview the template but it disappears when I view the blog directly. My browser is Firefox version 1.5.0.8. If anyone knows how to get the navbar back this would be much appreciated! Ed said... If by navigation bar you mean the thingy at the top that says Search Blog / Flag Blog / Next Blog etc, it's still there when viewed in IE6.

Central Park: 1st Night Observing 9-Nov

2006-11-14T01:08:00.001-05:00

The astronomy season has just begun! At soon as Daylight Saving Time ends my ability to go birding after work ends also. The astronomy season seems to kick in as the Cheshire Cat asterism is seen rising face up in Auriga. Since Central Park is where I do most of my observing this is where I wound up on Thursday night. All of team TotL eventually arrived at the Top of the Lawn. I

Central Park: Northern Pintail 17-Sep

2006-09-18T00:12:00.000-04:00

Northern Pintail (Adult Non-breeding Male) Central Park — Turtle Pond Image by BEN CACACE (Click image for detail) This image taken on September 17th at 5:42pm EDT under low light conditions. Focal length in 35mm film equivalent was 420mm, exposure time was 1/80s, hand held with image stabilization at f/2.8.

Central Park: Reservoir 30-Aug-2006

2006-08-30T23:31:00.000-04:00

An Eastern Clearing (detail) Central Park — Reservoir Images by BEN CACACE (Click image for a wide-angle view) The skies starting clearing while birding the reservoir tonight. No new migrants seen. Gadwall and Laughing Gull continue. Photo taken around 6:45pm EDT from the running track on the reservoir's west edge — shutter speed 1/100s, f/4.5 with a focal length in 35mm

Juvenile Barn Swallows 18-Aug-2006

2006-08-24T00:23:00.000-04:00

Fledgling Barn Swallows (detail) Central Park — Reservoir Images by BEN CACACE (Click image for a wide-angle view) Above are Barn Swallow fledglings from a nesting at the north end of Central Park's reservoir. This nest produced two broods this summer as did the nest at the reservoir's south end. Two swallows appear in the detail and four are in the wide angle view. The image

Central Park: Prelude to a Storm 10-Aug

2006-08-11T00:24:00.000-04:00

Reservoir Before a Storm (detail) Central Park — Reservoir Images by BEN CACACE (Click image for a wide-angle view) Tonight a storm roared through New York City shortly after I finished a tour of the reservoir. Seventeen species and nothing new seen. The lightening was close by and it felt a bit dangerous being out there in the middle of it all. For times like these I carry a

Central Park: Sub-adult Red-tailed Hawk

2006-08-09T22:31:00.000-04:00

Sub-adult Red-tailed Hawk Central Park, NYC near Winterdale Arch Image by BEN CACACE (click image above / additional photos below) A young Red-tailed Hawk showed up in Central Park this summer. On the 4th of July this hawk was photographed by Lincoln Karim. Lincoln has posted 10 photos of this one year old hawk which has just started to grow in its adult red tail feathers. A

Central Park: Eastern Screech-Owl 4-Aug

2006-08-05T02:04:00.000-04:00

Eastern Screech-Owl Central Park Ramble — Bank Rock Bay Images by BEN CACACE (Click image for a larger view) The photo above, taken on 4-Aug-2006 at 4:40p, shows an Eastern Screech-Owl with a reddish colored item hanging down the middle of its breast. Click here to see an uncompressed view of the image. In the past some of these reintroduced Eastern Screech-Owls were fitted

Central Park: Juv. Laughing Gull 25-Jul

2006-07-26T02:48:00.000-04:00

Juvenile Gulls — Herring (left) & Laughing (right) Central Park — Reservoir Images by BEN CACACE (Click image for a larger view) The photo was taken on Tuesday, 25-Jul-2006 around 6:50pm at the reservoir. The gulls are both juveniles. The left one is Herring Gull. The right one is Laughing Gull. Both are local breeders around New York City. The distance to the gulls was

Central Park: 30-June-2006 Anhinga

2006-07-01T22:48:00.000-04:00

Click image for a view of the notes This afternoon I spotted an Anhinga over the reservoir in New York City's Central Park. This is a fairly rare bird to see in the northeast. It was circling very low when I first spotted it and was less than half the width of the reservoir from where I was standing. This post contains: • a facsimile of the field notes & transcription of text • copy

Central Park: Black Skimmers (2006)

2006-06-18T12:59:00.002-04:00

Black Skimmer Flying with Needlefish Nickerson Beach, Long Island, United States Image by CAL VORNBERGER (additional Skimmer images by Cal — click images to advance) Black Skimmers (Rynchops niger) have been visiting Central Park over the past few years feeding at night on several bodies of water including Turtle Pond, The Lake, Conservatory Water & The Meer. They're back!

Peregrine Falcon Update: 31-May-2006

2006-06-01T07:09:00.000-04:00

Central Park South: Peregrine Falcons Last night, Wed. 31-May-2006, I spent over an hour searching for signs of the nesting Peregrines over the southeast corner of Central Park. No signs of any falcons over this short timespan. There are some strong signs that the human activity around the nest may have been too much for the falcons to tolerate.

Peregrine Falcon Update: 23-May-2006

2006-05-23T23:31:00.000-04:00

Central Park South: Peregrine Falcons For an hour & a half's observing I spotted a Peregrine Falcon only once. It was definitely the male & it was flying in from the north heading east. Before disappearing it passed over the Plaza Hotel. Central Park's Gapstow Bridge 5:45p — 7:20p

Peregrine Falcon Update: 22-May-2006

2006-05-23T23:24:00.000-04:00

Central Park South: Peregrine Falcons Tonight was a bit more active compared to last night. There were three passes by a lone Peregrine Falcon over the 2.5 hours of observing from Gapstow Bridge. No activity was witnessed around the nest site on the north face of the G.M. Building. One sighting was of a Peregrine handling prey. No gender was

Peregrine Falcon Update: 21-May-2006

2006-05-22T00:26:00.000-04:00

Central Park South: Peregrine Falcons Tonight was the least active night since monitoring the Peregrines this year. As I mentioned in a previous post the behavior of both adults changed radically on the 17th of May. This was when both adults started spending significant time away from the nest site. Since there is no way of knowing what is

Peregrine Falcon Update: 19-May-2006

2006-05-19T23:46:00.000-04:00

Central Park South: Peregrine Falcons Tonight I brought a portable chair to the site near Gapstow Bridge. This should be a welcome piece of equipment. Standing around for 2-3 hours can take its toll. There was a pleasant distraction tonight that may've lessened the details I would otherwise have picked up. A pleasant surprise was seeing my friend

Peregrine Falcon Update: 18-May-2006

2006-05-18T23:19:00.000-04:00

Central Park South:Peregrine Falcons During a Deluge At the office I took a look at the weather radar & noticed a storm approaching Manhattan. I did the only reasonable thing & headed to the park to see how the falcons would behave during this storm. When I arrived the rain had not started yet & I spotted a falcon on the G.M. Building's north face

Peregrine Falcon Update: 17-May-2006

2006-05-18T08:30:00.000-04:00

Central Park South: Peregrine Falcons Tonight (Wed., 17-May) a few people stopped by to view the Peregrines. A birder asked what I was up to & stuck around for few minutes excited to see if a Peregrine would show up. Luke just happened to be there for the most active time of the evening. The male arrived perching on various spots on the G.M.

Peregrine Falcon Update: 16-May-2006

2006-05-17T22:31:00.000-04:00

Central Park South: Peregrine Falcons Tonight (Tue., 17-May) the male of the pair was perched on the roofs of the G.M. Building (GM) & the 9 West 57th St. building (9W). No nest exchanges occurred. Just to clarify — a nest exchange is when one of the pair takes over the incubation duties from the other. Something of concern is happening near the

Peregrine Falcon Update: 14-May-2006

2006-05-15T01:10:00.000-04:00

Central Park South: Peregrine Falcons After not seeing a single falcon last night it was reassuring to see both the male & female falcons this evening. During the two hours & forty-five minutes spent observing the Peregrines more time was spent not seeing any falcons from the Gapstow Bridge site. «Click image for weather history for 14-May-2006»

Peregrine Falcon Update: 13-May-2006

2006-05-14T00:18:00.000-04:00

Central Park South: Peregrine Falcons Shortly after I arrived Donna showed up to check in on the falcons. No Peregrine was in view at the time & neither the male nor the female showed up during the 2 hours we were there. I arrived around 6:30pm at the Gapstow Bridge site. Unfortunately, we can only assume that the female was on nest & the male

Peregrine Falcon Update: 12-May-2006

2006-05-12T23:47:00.000-04:00

Central Park South: Peregrine Falcons Donna, her daughter Sam & my friend Peter were at the Gapstow Bridge site to view the falcons. If was good to have Donna's spotting scope on hand to confirm the gender of the Peregrines. Company is great to have while waiting around for long periods without much to do! For nearly two hours & 45 minutes either of

Peregrine Falcon Update: 11-May-2006

2006-05-11T23:14:00.000-04:00

Central Park South: Peregrine Falcons Just before 7pm I entered the park from the south-east corner. Looking up I spotted a Peregrine perched on a fence below the roof on the G.M. Building's north face. I couldn't tell its gender & tried to get to a better observing spot before it moved. The Peregrine was in position to drop to the level of the nest

Peregrine Falcon Update: 9-May-2006

2006-05-09T23:41:00.000-04:00

Central Park South: Peregrine Falcons While looking for the Peregrine Falons the pair of Canada Geese were tending to 7 goslings on the island south of Gapstow Bridge on The Pond. Click on the image for a larger view & labels for all 7. Canada Geese & 7 goslings — The Pond (35mm film equiv.: 375mm, ISO: 400, Shutter: 1/50, Aperture: f/4) I

Peregrine Falcon Update: 7-May-2006

2006-05-08T00:15:00.000-04:00

Central Park South: Peregrine Falcons Tonight there was a great gathering of optics near Gapstow Bridge to view the Peregrine Falcons over the south-east corner of Central Park. This was good to see & may not happen again for quite some time. Peter arrived with a 70mm refractor & 22 power binoculars. Donna showed up with a spotting scope. Dave

Peregrine Falcon Update: 6-May-2006

2006-05-07T00:52:00.000-04:00

Central Park South: Peregrine Falcons Around 5pm the trees surrounding us just west of Gapstow Bridge let loose millions seed pods shown in the image on the right. Click image to see the seed along side a ruler. It measures approximately 13mm including the stem. If anyone knows the species this belongs to please drop me a line. This particular

Peregrine Falcon Update: 5-May-2006

2006-05-05T23:53:00.000-04:00

Central Park South: Peregrine Falcons As I was heading into the park I watched a Crow moving north along the east edge of the park within the Peregrine's territory. This is the second time I've seen a crow in the territory with no reactions from the falcons. The only intruders I've seen escorted off the territory this year were other Peregrines.

Peregrine Falcon Update: 4-May-2006

2006-05-05T01:00:00.000-04:00

Central Park South: Peregrine Falcons Peregrine Falcon (Male Exiting Nest Site) Central Park South — G.M. Building Image by BEN CACACE Donna Browne was present tonight to help observe the Peregrines on the G.M. Building. It was another night of falcon activity from start to finish. Her play by play while the male was exiting the

Peregrine Falcon Update: 30-April-2006

2006-05-01T00:38:00.000-04:00

Peregrine Falcon Update: 28-April-2006

2006-04-29T01:39:00.000-04:00

Central Park South: Peregrine Falcons Tonight was a rewarding one watching the Peregrine Falcons on the G.M. Building. Donna Browne showed up with a spotting scope. I brought along a 3" refracting telescope. We observed the Peregrines for nearly 2.5 hours. It was good to have so much activity from the Peregrines while Donna was there to observe.

Peregrine Falcon Update: 26-April-2006

2006-04-27T02:13:00.000-04:00

Digiscoped Image of Peregrine This image was shot with the same camera as the side-by-side thumbnails below — the ones that look like oil painting details. The difference is this was taken through a telescope that increases the effective focal length by 6.4 times. The camera's 420mm lens is converted to a 2,688mm lens. Unfortunately the

Earliest Peregrine Falcon Nest in N.Y.C.?

2006-04-25T23:43:00.000-04:00

Image above taken on 24-Apr-2006 — Peregrine Falcon perched near possible new nest site on G.M. Building's north face. The following article on Peregrine Falcons (see box below) points out that the "first known nesting in New York City occurred in 1943 when a pair successfully hatched three young on a coping of the St. Regis Hotel". Behavior of Peregrine

Peregrine Falcon Update: 24-April-2006

2006-04-25T01:45:00.000-04:00

Central Park South: Peregrine Falcons Taking pictures of distant hawks & falcons with the Lumix FZ30 is like throwing an eight million pixel net their way. Each of the above images are 36 pixels wide by 47 pixels tall. They were blown-up to 130 pixels wide to display them side-by-side. All

Raptors At Sunset: 21-April-2006

2006-04-22T03:11:00.000-04:00

Central Park South: Red-tailed Hawk & Peregrine Falcon Portion of ESSEX HOUSE Sign (click image to view uncropped) The image above shows the adult male Red-tailed Hawk, from the Trump Parc nest, perching on the X on the Essex House sign tonight (Fri., 21-Apr). When I arrived at 6:55pm he was already there. Around 7:32pm I

American Kestrel: Upper East Side 15-Apr

2006-04-16T01:14:00.000-04:00

This male American Kestrel was seen around 11:30am this morning hunting from an antennae near my apartment. Kestrels have been seen in the area, including perched on this antennae, over the past few years. Details: • Camera: Panasonic Lumix DMC-FZ30 • Shutter speed: 1/400 sec | Aperture: f/5.6 | ISO: 80 • Focal length in 35mm film: 420mm • Distance to subject: approx. 70 feet The

Central Park: Peregrine Falcons 13-Apr

2006-04-14T20:07:00.000-04:00

ROBERT BATEMAN Peregrine Falcon and White-Throated Swifts paper, 26.25" x 20" (click image for catalog) Thursday night was spent observing a pair of Peregrine Falcons that may actually be nesting this season. Their territory hugs the southeast corner of Central Park. The falcons are seen perching on buildings over Central Park South & along 5th Avenue. One of

Pleiades Occultation: Celaeno Graze 1-Apr

2006-04-03T23:43:00.000-04:00

Updated: Mon. am 17-Apr: Added link to an article by Mitsuru Soma Limb Profiles of the Moon Obtained from Grazing Occultation Observations in the Software and the Celaeno Graze section. During the recent passage of the Moon through the Pleiades a remarkable event was visible within the borders of N.Y.C. — something I hadn't seen before.

Digital Camera in Bryant Park

2006-03-18T13:42:00.001-05:00

On the 14th of March I was practicing with my digital camera (Lumix FZ-30 w/12x optical zoom) in Bryant Park near the N.Y. Public Library. The park's center lawn is being resodded. An annual event. While looking for birds to photograph, mainly sparrows and pigeons, I spotted an odd shape walking along the south side of the 'lawn'. After a minute the bird showed itself. Surprise. This was the

Match Five Against The Swedes

2006-02-18T01:20:00.000-05:00

U.S.A. v. Sweden Missed the match with the Italians. Swedes strong — Americans keep up nicely. No steals, deuces swapped through four ends. Americans force Swedes to take one in 5th. Swedes return the favor in the 6th. Hammer to button for Swedes for one. A fine end! Pete with a chance to take 1 in the 8th - Yes! U.S. opportunity to lie 4 before the hammer - YES! Thirds can't

Number Three for U.S.A.

2006-02-16T20:08:00.000-05:00

U.S.A. v. New Zealand Americans still looking good! U.S.A. 10 — New Zealand 4

Match Two For The American Men

2006-02-14T22:37:00.000-05:00

U.S.A. v. Finland Both teams blanking nicely. 3 ends completed — all tied. After 6 ends — Americans 1 up. All tied into 9th end. Fenson looking to blank ... yes! Questionable choice for Fenson's hammer. U.S.A. 3 — Finland 4

Opening Match for The States

2006-02-13T22:51:00.000-05:00

U.S.A. v. Norway U.S. over Norway after 8 ends. Handshakes and 5 points before the hammer. U.S.A. 11 — Norway 5

Daylight Venus Two Days in a Row

2006-01-29T17:53:00.000-05:00

Date: 26-Jan-2006 @ 12:30p EST Magnitude/Size: —4.4 / 57.5" Alt./Az. (Venus): 28.6° / 209.6° Elongation: 20.7° West Illumination/Phase: 6.2% / 151.1° Alt./Az. (Sun): 30.4° / 185.9° Conditions for viewing Venus in daylight today were exceptional. It was cold again and the skies were blue and cloudless. Needless to say no one was there in Bryant Park viewing Venus post inferior

Naked Eye: Crescent Venus Redux

2006-01-10T23:51:00.000-05:00

Date: 10-Jan-2006 @ 12:50p EST Magnitude/Size: —4.1 / 63" Alt./Az. (Venus): 32.5° / 188.0° Elongation: 7.0° East Illumination/Phase: 0.7% / 170.4° Alt./Az. (Sun): 26.4° / 192.0° Click image for U.S. Naval Observatory's Apparent Disk of Solar System Object. The image was created for the time of the sighting. Click here for a full list of Data Services from

Manhattan North: Naked Eye View

2006-01-05T23:22:00.000-05:00

Thirty-nine Stars Click image to enlarge. Overcast conditions with rain has predominated lately so it was good to see clear skies on Wednesday morning. On cold northerly winds, around 1 o'clock in the morning, the clouds cleared and I spent some time looking towards the north to see how dim a star I could

Asteroids Seen Through Year-end 2005

2005-12-31T21:28:00.000-05:00

So far a total of 6 asteroids have been spotted, confirmed and documented in emails sent to various mailing lists or with observing notes. The latest found is the bright asteroid 4 Vesta. Details and links for Vesta have been added to this post. Click on hyperlinks in bulleted list to jump to the reports: • 63 Ausonia: m10.1, 16-Sep-2003, TeleVue-76 • 63 Ausonia: follow-up

4 Vesta in Gemini: 30-Dec-2005

2005-12-31T03:20:00.000-05:00

Position of 4 Vesta on 30 December 2005 I thought I would officially add one of the easier asteroids to my short list. Tonight at 8:45p, from my NE (Manhattan north) facing window, I spotted the asteroid with Fujinon 10x70's. Vesta is currently situated around the waist of the eastern twin in the constellation Gemini. The two images below were generated with Planetarium for the

Naked Eye Attempt: Crescent Venus

2005-12-29T11:25:00.000-05:00

Click image for U.S. Naval Observatory's Apparent Disk of Solar System Object. The image was created for the time of the sighting. Click here for a full list of Data Services from the USNO. On Tuesday (27-Dec) during lunch break I attempted to see if Venus' crescent would be visible naked eye. It's close to 55 arc seconds across! A few

Asteroids Seen Through 25-Dec-2005

2005-12-25T23:13:00.000-05:00

Laying my finger on how many asteroids I've sighted I couldn't find a single place to look up the details. This is the purpose for this post. Left: TeleVue-76, Right: Fujinon 10x70's The following observation reports were found online or on my harddisk. Just in case there's a need to sign up for these Yahoo! Groups I've quoted the messages in full. Click on hyperlinks in

Central Park Observing - 17 Dec. 2005

2005-12-18T12:03:00.000-05:00

Location: TotL - Central Park's Great Lawn (north end) Date/time: Sat., 17 December 2005 (8:10p-9:00p) Optics: 10x70 Fujinon's (mounted) Conditions: winds W 6-7 mph, temp. 37-36°F This was a short night in the park. Setup was completed at 8:20p after traveling for 40 minutes to the site. Clouds started rolling in from the west around 8:45p. Conditions were clear, cool with a predominantly west

Asterism in Auriga: Cheshire Cat

2005-12-18T01:08:00.001-05:00

I decided to write up the details for an asterism I discovered in Auriga back on November 7th 2002. Discovery details appear at the end of this post. Click for more ... below to view two charts. The first is a wide field chart and the second is a close up of the Cheshire Cat asterism. Next time you're out give this asterism a shot. When Auriga is rising the image of the face is upright

Binoculars: Stars Near the Moon

2005-12-16T20:31:00.000-05:00

The sky is clear tonight and the nearly full Moon is rising above the buildings on Manhattan's East Side. I thought to check out how dim a star I could see near the Moon with two different pairs of binoculars. The key was not to know which stars are in the vicinity of the Moon. Binoculars used were: • 8.5x42 Swarovski EL • 10x70 Fujinon FMT-SX The Swarovski's are my main birding

Object List: 2,000 Asteroids (PftP)

2005-12-15T12:00:00.000-05:00

Observation after creating object list: Juno at mag. 7.6 was spotted on 18-Dec in binoculars to double check my conversions of the elements for Planetarium for the Palm (PftP). The charting of Juno was off by 11'44". The orbital elements for Juno supplied by A. Hofer (developer of Planetarium for the Palm) matched the location of Juno closely as seen in a mounted pair

Viewing Venus: A Daylight Timing

2005-12-13T20:58:00.000-05:00

Today I took a short break from the office and headed off to Bryant Park again to observe Venus in daylight in order to determine if I could see Venus' phase › naked eye › at this point in its cycle. Knowing this would be difficult I also planned to see how long it would take to spot Venus naked eye. The time of the observation was around 2:30pm with the Sun 16° above the horizon. I knew

Great Meteor Display of 1913

2005-12-11T02:34:00.000-05:00

While searching for information on C.A. Chant I found a fascinating publication on a meteoric display unlike any seen before or since. This occurred on February 9th 1913. C.A. Chant was instrumental in collecting, analyzing and publishing information about the event which was seen from Saskatchewan to Bermuda. C.A. Chant's name came to my attention while I was writing up the text for Venus

Venus' Phase Naked Eye?

2005-12-10T11:46:00.000-05:00

Yesterday (9-Dec) I went to Bryant Park (near the New York Public Library) after a half-day Friday at the office, to spot Venus naked eye after the storm. Blue skies predominated. I've kept notes on the location of various azimuths (locations along the horizon in degrees) from my personal Uraniborg around the Bryant Park lawn so I knew approximately where to look for the planet. After

Canon of Solar System Transits

2005-12-10T00:41:00.000-05:00

In the year 69163, approximately 3,360 generations from now, there should be a simultaneous transit of Venus and Mercury across the Sun as seen from Earth. Not sure where on Earth but I don't think this *really* matters. Due to the 'evolution of planetary orbits' this event cannot occur with the current planetary configuration. Take a look at Quarter Million Year Canon of Solar System