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.”

  • Clammin’

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  • Raptor Wednesday

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  • “Seagull” Is A Perfectly Fine Generic Word

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  • Breaking News

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  • Bufflehead

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  • The Social Wasps

    Chris Alice Kratzer’s guide to The Social Wasps of North America is out and about. If you’re interested in the social wasps, and I know you are, you should really look this one up. Kratzer uses an interesting digital graphic style of illustration: it’s generic, or should I say platonic, packing a lot of information…

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  • Sun Dog

    Have you been following the travails of the National Butterfly Center in Mission, TX? They launched a lawsuit against the Trump-wreckers ripping through their land to build the environmentally devastating border wall, and have since born the brunt of the crazies of the Republican Coup Party’s terrorist wing. They’ve lately shut down indefinitely because of…

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  • More Corvids

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  • Corvus corax

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  • Raptor Wednesday

    On Sunday morning, this bird flew up from the fire-escape to attempt to grab a Mourning Dove that had just landed on the roof parapet. The dove had no difficulty getting away. The hawk then flew into the park, landing in a linden with at least two Grey Squirrels in it. There was some scurrying…

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