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.”

May 2014

  • National Butterfly Center

    Southern Texas is home to the greatest diversity of butterflies in the U.S., and the National Butterfly Center, in Mission, is in the thick of the action down there. November is the time to visit, but we didn’t do too badly. As a bonus, we flushed a pair of Bobwhite. It was evidently emperor butterfly…

    mthew

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  • Texas Birds II

    Yellow-crowned Night-heron (Nyctanassa violacea).Great Kiskadee (Pitangus sulphuratus).A single Snowy Egret (Egretta thula) amid a herd of Cattle Egrets (Bubulcus ibis).Brown-crested Flycatcher (Myiarchus tyrannulus).Grasshopper Sparrow (Ammodramus savannarum).Ladder-backed Woodpecker (Picoides scalaris).Roseate Spoonbill (Ajaja ajaja).Plain Chachalaca (Ortalis vetula).Black-necked Stilt (Himantopus mexicanus). White-collared Seedeater (Sporophila torqueola).Varied Bunting (Passerina versicolor).

    mthew

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  • Butterbutts

    One of our most common warblers is the Yellow-rumped (Dendroica coronata), whose sheer omnipresence this time of year almost makes them wallpaper. But it’s a stunning bird that always bears a longer look. The butter-yellow rump, sides, and just a touch on the poll, or head, contrast well with the gray, blue-gray, white, and black…

    mthew

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