Eastern Wood-Pewee
Contopus virens
Eastern Wood-Pewee · Prospect Park · 30 May 2026
An Eastern Wood-Pewee at the very top of a snag in Prospect Park at the end of May, which is where a pewee sits: an exposed perch over an opening in the wood, sallying out for flying insects and returning to almost the same twig. Pewees return to the park later than most spring migrants, typically not until mid-to-late May, from wintering grounds in the Andes.
That habit is as much the identifying feature as the plumage, grey-olive above, whitish below, no strong eye-ring. Pewees and the various Empidonax flycatchers look nearly identical in a photograph and are properly told apart by voice. Without having heard this one call, the genus is solid but the species is a reasonable inference from timing and posture rather than a certainty.
Birds, insects, plants and other wildlife, mostly from Brooklyn, with some from further afield.
Every photograph comes with notes on what it is.
Selected
Favourite shots. Filter by subject, or .
Places
Everything, by where it was taken.
Species
Larger catalogue of photos organized by species of animal or plant.
Catalogue
Every photograph, newest first. Narrow it by period, place or species; the three work together.
Updates
Coming soon. Sign up at the bottom of the page for updates.