Backyard and Beyond

Starting out from Brooklyn, an amateur naturalist explores our world.

As John Burroughs said, “The place to observe nature is where you are.”

  • Mammal (and Others) Monday

    Dual excavations: a Cicada -killer Wasp nest on the left flank of this Groundhog den entrance. While photographing the wasp, I noticed: Another wasp. Steel-blue Cricket-hunter, which are known to nest in the vicinity of Cicada-killer wasps. Trying to get a good image of this one, movement at the corner of my eye revealed: A…

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    Mammal (and Others) Monday

  • Beetles

    Spined Oak Borer. Look at those antennae! Phaleria testacea digging for cover after I turned over very dead fish on the beach. These remains also had a passel of larvae of a Dermestes skin beetle working away. False Mealworm. Flat-faced Longhorn of some kind. Another longhorn: Sternidius genus (?) Stenelmis genus. Norther Sap Beetle. Red-Shouldered…

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    Beetles

  • Banded at Plumb Beach

    American Oystercatcher with yellow bands reading 8U. Yellow means it was banded in Massachusetts. Note that this bird’s right leg is damaged, a toeless stump, but the bird was still getting around. Reported to American Oystercatcher Working Group. Ruddy Turnstone with dark green flag reading, I think, 52H. Sanderling with with dark green flag 9I9…

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    Banded at Plumb Beach

  • Ambitious

    One of two traps set up in NYC parks by Vox to discover an undescribed species. If they have the resources, they could probably find several. But it won’t be easy. I have 4,592 insect observations on iNaturalist that need identification.

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  • Leps

    Very big Polyphemus Moth caterpillar. A very small Saturniidae caterpillar. Should get a lot bigger and more identifiable, but will I find it again on this oak? Filbertworm. Topiary Grass-Veneer. Ipsilon Dart. Reddish Ephestiodes. The Joe-Pye Weed is so popular now that my pictures of this Eastern Tiger Swallowtail captured some bees.

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    Leps

  • Raptor Wednesday

    Reconnecting with the American Kestrel family from the north end of Green-Wood. The Chapel Gang: two young males, one young female, and the father of them all (well…?) hanging around the Old Chapel recently.

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    Raptor Wednesday

  • All the Fine Young Mimids

    Brown Thrasher Gray Catbird Northern Mockingbird. Our Mimidae family birds.

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    All the Fine Young Mimids

  • Shore Birds

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    Shore Birds

  • Birds

    I never spotted the nest, but some strange calls alerted me to young Warbling Vireos in the Quaking Aspen. Another brood for this American Robin? Nearby. The local Ravens abandoned their nest at the beginning of the breeding season, likely due to assholes with fireworks, and I haven’t seen many this summer. But they seemed…

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    Birds

  • PSA

    A Peach Service Announcement: this Cooks Illustrated recipe for peach ice-cream is fantastic. It’s a good bit of work, but the effect is worth it. Wow! Note that I did not use the peaches pictured above, which I found growing on 36th Street.

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