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

    Not much on the raptor front this past week. I heard this one announce herself before she landed. They’re often helpful that way. I heard American Kestrels at Machate Circle at the south end of Prospect Park and then again on 6th Avenue and the teens, but try as I might I could not see…

    See more

  • Clear Cutting A Pollinator Paradise

    Two Julys ago I came across this narrow strip in Bush Terminal Park planted with Narrowleaf Mountain Mint/Pycnanthemum tenuifolium. And it was massively alive with insects: bees, wasps, flies, butterflies, etc. Especially wasps: I recorded 22 different species of wasp here over two summer seasons. A few were species I’d not seen much or at…

    See more

    Clear Cutting A Pollinator Paradise

  • Pollen Hunters

    See more

    Pollen Hunters

  • Warbling Vireo

    Heard for weeks as I passed these Quaking Aspens this summer. Finally spotted July 1st. Peterson notes they prefer aspens and cottonwoods for nesting, so now I’m on the lookout for young ones.

    See more

    Warbling Vireo

  • More Beetles

    Wharf Borer taking the ferry to Governor’s Island with us. Asian Oak Weevil Your guess is as good as mine on this tiny one on an oak leaf. Redbud Seed Weevil (I think). Margined Leatherwings. Grape Colaspspis. Click beetle on milkweed, where I’ve seen them before.

    See more

    More Beetles

  • Softshell In Valley Water

    There aren’t any softshell turtles native to the northeast. This is evidently a Pelodiscus genus Chinese softshell. I saw one years ago in Prospect Park Lake. Valley Water is one of Green-Wood’s ponds.

    See more

    Softshell In Valley Water

  • Raptor Wednesday

    An Osprey circling Valley Water looking for lunch. No dives, though.

    See more

  • Marine Park Snapshots

    See more

    Marine Park Snapshots

  • Mammal Monday

    First rabbits in Green-Wood. The first iNaturalist report of Cottontail Rabbits in the cemetery was at the beginning of June. I had my first sighting, of these two, on July 1. All the difference the direction of the sun makes… Engorged tick: the cemetery hasn’t had any evidence of bad-for-human ticks yet, but this could…

    See more

    Mammal Monday

  • On the Beach III

    It’s the birds’ beach now, in breeding season. These photos are from the boardwalk. Flying over the boardwalk, and not quietly. Back inside the fence, from the open beach. And one roaming outside the fence.

    See more

    On the Beach III