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.”

mthew

  • Pollinator Week

    New readers/viewers: did you know we accept donations to help defray the cost of hosting this blog?

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  • Odonata Update

    Today’s the start of the Odolympics, an attempt to survey the dragonfly and damselfly populations of the Western Hemisphere. (Part 2 will take place in December for folks in South America.)

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  • Youngsters

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  • Spiders

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  • Charismatic Galls

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  • Bluegill Sashimi

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  • Twig Hunting

    The Green Heron really wanted this curved twig. It could not break it off. Meanwhile. Literally, at the same time, another Green Heron was further up in the woods. This one was successful, snapping off a twig and then flying it back to the nest site. The first heron flew back as well, but without…

    mthew

  • Brood X: A Spectacular Spectacle

    Brood X is nearing the end of its absolute reign upon the regions graced with it. The tiny larvae are probably already dropping out of their twig nests and burrowing into the earth. They will emerge in 2038. What will be the state of the planet then? 2024 is the next periodical cicada year: the…

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  • Batty

    First of these I’ve seen. Eastern Red Bats are more typical here in Brooklyn. Several other species of bat have been identified by their distinctive sounds as they fly over Green-Wood.

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  • Orioles

    Baltimore Orioles have nested in this linden tree for at least two previous breeding seasons. Do they ever recycle their old nests? Or the materials contained in them? There’s a lot of human-made material incorporated in their woven bag nests, including ribbon (many bunches of flowers in a cemetery…) and string. This stuff doesn’t break…

    mthew