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.”

  • 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
  • Raptor Wednesday

    A sudden eruption of Blue Jays made me turn around and circle back towards all the shrieking. Not so much bigger than the Jays enraged by its presence, this hawk was perched in a beech. Since it was so small, I looked closer still. Note the minimal white on the tail tips. Note how these…

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    Raptor Wednesday
  • From the North

    Four Horned Larks/Eremophila alpestris at Bush Terminal Park. First time I’ve seen them there. These winter visitors are usually found on the edges of the city, like Floyd Bennett Field, where I’ve never succeeded in getting this close to them.

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    From the North
  • Superb Owl Monday Morning Quarterbacking

    January 24: finally, evidence of nesting. And January 31.

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