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.”

  • Raptor Wednesday

    Having been forced to move their nest cavity site down to the next avenue, the Kestrels have returned to their old haunts closer to this avenue.

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  • Time For Some Wasps?

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  • Holiday Inspirations

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  • Wasps and All

    Queen Anne’s lace is a-bloom. I often see flies congregating on it, but this particular one has a wasp and three beetles. The third beetle is out of focus on the lower left. But for now, I draw your attention to this chunky, colorful wasp. Chrysis angolensis was introduced to this hemisphere in the middle…

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  • Various Things

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  • Gothic

    Ye olde Double-crested Cormorant. The double-crests are breeding plumage curlicues, infrequently seen. Phalacrocorax auritus literally means bald crow with ears.

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  • Just Another Hole In The Wall

    The stone retaining wall of the Dell Water in Green-Wood is largely exposed this time of year. I was looking over the pond recently when I noticed a bumble bee fly towards the wall below me. And tuck right into it out of sight. Oh, hey! Both of these gaps in the masonry seem to…

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  • Raptor Wednesday

    More than a week after spotting three nestlings bursting at the rusty seams of their cornice nest, and then, later that same day, a female at close range on 5th Avenue, I was only seeing a total of three American Kestrels in the ‘hood. Two males and one female. I presumed it was the parents…

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  • Pollination Update

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  • Red-winged

    Circling a cat-tail ringed water-body to the sounds of aggrieved Red-wing Blackbirds. Whole families up in wings. I know someone who was chased by a RWBB at the point of a bill. They are not fooling when it comes to the defense of their territory.

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