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.”

  • Peeper and Bull on Staten Island

    See more

  • More

    See more

  • Creatures

    See more

  • Raptor Wednesday

    Thomas, Roberts, Alito, Gorsuch, Kavanaugh, and Barrett all, of course, lied under oath when they said they’d uphold precedent. This has been a long Republican project, completely out in the open, and every Republican voter is responsible for it. With Roe looking like it’s done and the minority party about to declare women second-class citizens,…

    See more

  • The Littoral

    See more

  • Calvert Vaux Park

    Alongside the narrow mouth of Coney Island Creek and the expanse of Gravesend Bay, Calvert Vaux Park is named for the English-born architect who teamed up with Frederick Law Olmsted for the designs of Central and Prospect Parks. Long overshadowed by Olmsted, whose sons carried the family name and profession of landscape architecture into the…

    See more

  • Crabs

    Did you know that your donations help support this blog?

    See more

  • Don’t Know Jack?

    See more

  • Slither and Hop

    See more

  • Re: Egret

    City Nature Challenge starts tomorrow. Remember, for iNaturalist purposes, plants planted by people (yesterday, or in the case of a tree, a century ago) aren’t considered wild: so most plants in gardens, parks, street trees, etc., are “captive/cultivated” casual observations. And be circumspect with locations of rare, endangered, or threatened life forms. Plant hunters, mushroom…

    See more