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

  • Murre Monday

    A Thick-billed Murre/Uria lomvia was floating off the tip of… well, I’m not even sure what to call it, the small corporate amenity park behind the BJ’s parking garage on Gravesend Bay. This is a very rare bird for Brooklyn/Kings Co. Several have suggest this individual is ill, because none of the observers have seen…

    Murre Monday
  • Aways Bee Feasting

    I’d heard and seen a few reports of the lingering Baltimore Orioles in the Dell Water eating dead Honeybees scattered around the hives. The day I visited, it was in the mid 40sF and some bees were out and about. This Oriole was grabbing live ones. Picking them off at the hive entrances, sometimes reaching…

    Aways Bee Feasting
  • Chestnut

  • Tufted vs. Cocoon

    Tufted Titmouse finds a big Polyphemus moth cocoon. And starts excavating. After the bird flew off. There was still a lot of stuff in there, and I thought the bird might return. I looked again the next day, but the pale green interior seemed intact, but was it still viable?

    Tufted vs. Cocoon
  • Another Raven Encounter

    Another Raven Encounter
  • Raptor Wednesday

    Since December, I’ve seen a Merlin perched on the antenna at 40th and 5th Avenue four or five times. Each time has been between 7:20-7:45. Merlins are known to perch for a long time on the same spot, but these are brief stops. Photos of these sightings have been awful. The warm lens indoors doesn’t…

    Raptor Wednesday
  • Flash [Fish Crow] Mob

    Two of many at this corner of 4th Avenue where the air is filled with grease, for some reason. At least 60 crows. They were mostly silent, but finally a couple started sounding like Fish Crows. They generally patrol the shoreline, four avenue blocks from this location, but they also seem to roost inland. Many…

  • Superb Owl Halftime Upchucks

    A plethora of pellets under a couple of pines… (Coin with no-account President on the flip side is just over an inch long.)

    Superb Owl Halftime Upchucks
  • Superb Owl

    Nothing to see here, just some pine-branch stumps…

    Superb Owl