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.”

  • Our Tiniest Duck

    At Brooklyn Bridge Park amid Mallards, Black Duck, and Gadwalls. A female Green-winged Teal. (I couldn’t see the green speculum until I looked at my photos, so I was wondering what this not- Bufflehead not-Ruddy Duck was….) Fintan O’Toole, who has written a fantastic history of modern Ireland, is one of the our most astute…

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    Our Tiniest Duck
  • Punks

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    Punks
  • Raptor Wednesday

    Cooper’s in the ‘hood. A rare sighting (above) while being out and about. More typically lately the bird is on a nearby fire-escape. (So I’m photographing through a dirty window in these shots, the cold being too much to have the window open.) This fire-escape is out of the prevailing wind and facing the morning…

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    Raptor Wednesday
  • Hunting In The Cone

    And then “hatch”-ing the prize open.

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    Hunting In The Cone
  • Mammal Monday

    Baked goods edition. With a piece of bread scored on the street, this squirrel raced down the sidewalk, shot up a tree and leaped to the roof deck of this 2.5-story corner house. Then dashed like a Muybridge horse across four parallel roofs, then angled under the one with solar panels on it to the…

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    Mammal Monday
  • Cloud Situation

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    Cloud Situation
  • Snow Gulls

    And ice….

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    Snow Gulls
  • Raven Passing

    And then, on February 10th, two incidences of carrying twigs to the nest:

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    Raven Passing