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

  • Swallowtail

    In metal, etc., attached to fence by antenna. Artist unknown. (Typing “metal butterfly art” into ye olde search engine resulted in some gawd-awful stuff, but I like this.)

    Swallowtail
  • Tufted Titmouse

    Not a single Tufted Titmouse was seen in Brooklyn during the day of the 2023 Christmas Bird Count. There was at least one spotted during the week surrounding the CBC, though, and I saw this one, in Green-Wood, a couple of weeks beforehand.

    Tufted Titmouse
  • Knobbed & Channeled

    Knobbed Whelk/Busycon carica and Channeled Whelk/Busycotypus canaliculatus side-by-side. I usually see more Channeled around here, but Recently at Jacob Riis Beach, the Knobbed predominated.

    Knobbed & Channeled
  • Raptor Wednesday

    New Year’s Day began with a Peregrine atop Mike’s Spike. Photographed here from two long avenues and two typical street blocks away.Then I looked again and saw a smaller falcon up there, likely an American Kestrel but possibly a Merlin. On the way to Staten Island, I spotted a Peregrine on the Verrazano Narrows Bridge,…

    Raptor Wednesday
  • Fly

    Late December temperatures in the mid-50s F add a Common Drone Fly/Eristalis tenax to the very limited mix of active insects.

  • New Year’s Owls

    Here’s one. Here’s two. Both in the same tree: Happy New Year! Another pass: this time I got those searchlight eyes on me.

    New Year’s Owls
  • destellos naranjas en la copa de los árboles

    Details of Tatiana Arocha‘s large work at the new Sunset Park Library branch of BPL. Happy New Year’s Eve!

    destellos naranjas en la copa de los árboles
  • Storm Leftovers

    Washed ashore at Riis Beach: what I think is a Jonah Crab/Cancer borealis claw. About a week earlier, some very large waves were recorded in nearby NJ, so the storm must have really stirred up the bottom. An American Lobster/Homarus americanus claw. Only the second time I’ve found a lobster around NYC. Lots and lots…

  • Crow Food

    From far off, I thought this American Crow might have an egg, which seemed off for December. Now it looks like something else entirely, but what?

    Crow Food
  • Dangler

    A Baltimore Oriole nest in a linden tree. It was out in the open now that all the leaves have fallen, but I walked by it several dozen times since last spring without noticing it. A couple of days later, after a lot of rain and wind, the nest was on the ground. Here in…

    Dangler