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.”

  • Leaf-cutter

    Leaf-cutter bee at entrance to her nest in a stone wall. She is holding a piece of leaf here, but we cant see it because of the angle. Also, that leaf segment wasn’t as large as this piece, brought in 3.5 minutes earlier. Megachile bees line their nests with half circle pieces of leaf that…

    See more

    Leaf-cutter

  • Monarch Monday

    Not the first adult or imago Monarch Butterfly I’ve seen this spring, but the first I’ve photographed. June 7th.

    See more

  • Nesting

    Cedar Waxwing with one of several shards of plastic bag, presumably for nesting material, gathered over a couple of minutes. But the stuff is so insubstantial it didn’t stay in the thickly-leaved branches of this Beech. Several pieces floated down as I watched. Northern Mockingbird nest at eye-level. I discovered one egg in here the…

    See more

  • Kestrels in the Ruins

    Two nestlings at what I call “Nest 1”. June 7. Same day, less than a mile away at Nest 2, the female checks in to her nest. Presumably, there are nestlings in there. The male was perched nearby.

    See more

  • A Raid

    I woke up recently around six with a Blue Jay’s piercing screams coming from right outside. A crow was raiding this messy House Sparrow nest in the linden across the street and the Jay was sounding the alarm. I don’t think the Crow found anything. The Jay, after a swoop at the crow. After the…

    See more

    A Raid

  • Court St. Peregrines

    Peregrine jumps/falls off ledge. Snags a pigeon. But then loses it. Another day, some feathers were floating out of the nest space. I think some prey was getting plucked. June 7th, peek at a nestling surveying the scene!

    See more

    Court St. Peregrines

  • Raptor Wednesday

    Both parents over Court Street. Justice, the falconeer, atop Brooklyn Borough Hall.

    See more

    Raptor Wednesday

  • Seasonal

    See more

    Seasonal

  • Mammal Monday

    This Groundhog’s den entryway at the base of a Tuliptree is a thicket of Poison Ivy. Don’t pet the marmots.

    See more

  • Recent Skies

    22° halo around Sun and a circumhorizontal arc below it. (The enormous crane, twice as tall as the usual giant cranes, is a recent edition to the near horizon at the wind-power parking lot at South Brooklyn Marine Terminal.)

    See more

    Recent Skies